Research on community ownership and management of assets

This research aims to learn about the experience of managing and owning assets – particularly land, buildings, finance resources and energy based assets – by community based organisations in the United Kingdom.

Building on a review of literature conducted for JRF in 2009, it seeks to engage with practitioners, policy makers and other stakeholders to discover the key overall outcomes including the costs, benefits and critical success factors associated with asset-based community development and to provide an evidence base to influence future policy and practice in this arena.

There has been an increasing policy interest in this area ranging from publications from the Department for Communities and Local Government to the Quirk Review of community ownership and management of assets as well as programme funding such as the Adventure Capital Fund. Community Land Trusts in Scotland and in Wales and the Community Support Programme in Northern Ireland provide other examples.

Meanwhile a wide range of community based organisations – most notably Development Trusts, Social Action Centres, community centres, village halls and co-operative organisations - have been active in this field for many years.

The key questions this research addresses are:

• what are the costs, benefits, outcomes and critical success factors associated with different approaches to asset ownership and management?

The research will involve developing initial typologies of different approaches to asset-based ownership and management by community organisations, as well as mapping to examine the extent of the field. Cases will be devised to investigate, learn from, and analyse the experience of practitioners and policy makers. At key stages there will be opportunities for both practitioners and policy makers to build on the emerging knowledge through forums or one-line discussions.

The research started in August 2009. Phase 1 will involve initial set up activities including the creation of an on-line gateway. In Phase 2 existing knowledge and practice in the field will be reviewed especially by considering the existing experience of voluntary and community organisations owning or managing assets. This will inform the development of a typology of community control of assets and mapping of the field. Phase 3 will form the bulk of the project.

It will comprise:

• Case studies of asset based development practice in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales
• Four discussion groups with practitioners in each of those countries to discuss emerging findings
•  In-depth interviews with key stakeholders
• and short follow-up cases on themes which arise during the research. Phase 4 will involve the production of a report and dissemination events from December 2010.

This study is led by a research team at IVAR, working with colleagues from Community Evaluation Northern Ireland (CENI); Cordis Bright; EKOS; Geof Cox Associates; Marilyn Taylor Associates; and the Open University.

Contact: Mike Aiken - mike@ivar.org.uk or Rebecca Moran - rebecca@ivar.org.uk

To view the latest update on this work ( March 2010 ) click here.

Mike Aiken - Head of Research - IVAR