Place-based pride and connection

An improved sense of community can improve health and wellbeing. While Big Local residents often focused on health and wellbeing, they also wanted to go beyond the individual benefits of learning a new skill, exercising or reducing isolation. 

They wanted to develop a sense of pride in their area and raise the aspirations of residents. Some of the most popular ways of doing this were through heritage and arts projects — celebrating local artists, hosting festivals, and spreading the word about local history. 

Other projects fostered connection and local pride included sports clubs, where people played together and sometimes represented their community in competitions. 

There are many examples of these projects within the area summaries brought together for this website, demonstrating that residents in Big Local areas wanted to be proud and connected to the place they live in. These projects usually focused on bringing the geographical community together, but sometimes also focused on building connections among residents with a specific identity, for example the local LGBTQ community. 

Community engagement to decide how to use the place-based funding provided by Big Local was a key part of Big Local activities and is covered in the theme ​‘community engagement’.