Big Local
The Big Local programme is an opportunity for residents in 150 areas around England to use at least £1m each to make a massive and lasting difference to their communities. Big Local brings together local talent, ambitions, skills and energy from individuals, groups and organisations who want to make their area an even better place to live.
Big Local is funded by the Big Lottery Fund and managed by Local Trust who work nationally with a range of partners to deliver Big Local, building on the skills and experiences of others to provide expert advice and support for residents.
IVAR has been the Research and Learning Partner to Local Trust and the Big Local programme for the last five years.
The journey started in 2011 when the (then) Community Development Foundation led a successful consortium chosen by the Big Lottery Fund to set up and manage a new independent charitable organisation – Local Trust, which was endowed with £200m of BIG lottery funding. Other members of the consortium were CCLA, Capacity Global, National Association for Neighbourhood Management, Renaisi, UnLtd and IVAR.
A lot has changed since 2011. Local Trust was created as a new organisation to manage and develop the Big Local programme which is now up and running in 150 areas across England.
In the first couple of years, our work was mainly about helping Local Trust with its strategic thinking. Our reports and inputs have been used widely by Local Trust and its senior team to help them describe, promote and enthuse others about the most important features of the programme.
2011
IVAR appointed as the Big Local Research and Learning Partner
2012
IVAR helped Local Trust to think about how they would support collaborative working and the kind of working relationships they wanted to develop with consortium members
2013
‘What’s new and different’ set out the positives and pitfalls of similar programmes in the past
2014
IVAR: Big Local Annual Learning Review
2015
‘Building on assets’ and ‘Funding for resident controI’ provided an evidence base for the core principles of the Big Local programme.
2016
IVAR reappointed as one of Local Trust’s research providers
It was the first time the funding approach had been articulated on paper and helped people understand the approach we are taking. It was the product of IVAR being really immersed in the organisation – getting in the DNA.”
Research report
Research reports:
Big Local: What’s new and different?
Leila Baker, Charlotte Hennessy, Marilyn Taylor
read more
From the moment Big Local was announced there
was enthusiasm that this programme would be ‘new & different’ from those that had gone before.
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Big Local: What’s new and different?
A consortium of passionate and experienced individuals pooled their knowledge and experience of what had worked and failed in the past and this was included the 2010 bid.
In 2012, IVAR challenged Local Trust to take a systematic look at lessons from past community development programmes to see how Big Local was measuring up. Our report found that Big Local was indeed proving to be ‘new and different’ and was building on the past. It also helped identify even more ways Local Trust could build on past lessons.
Residents in control - we identified five important lessons from the past.
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Residents in control
5 important lessons from the past
- Pace: Building trust and getting started take time. Local Trust gave the Big Local programme a ‘year zero’ to build trust and get organised. This was a recommendation from the evaluation of the New Deal for Communities
- Assets not deficits: Big Local is about unlocking the potential that already exists in communities
- Few strings attached: Unlike government programmes, Big Local can be more hands off about what residents do
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Residents in control
5 important lessons from the past
- Light touch: Support is there for residents but it’s not imposed. Local Trust engages Big Local reps who are there to enable, to mentor, to be on the end of the phone. This builds on the lessons from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation Neighbourhood Programme
- Peer support: Big Local has a year round programme of events where residents can meet and share stories and learn together
Research report
Research reports:
Building on assets
Leila Baker, Charlotte Hennessy, Marilyn Taylor
Four years into the Big Local programme, Local Trust wanted to be able to describe clearly its approach to community development. This report considers the theory, and then at what asset based community development looks like in Big Local areas.
Research report
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Funding for resident control
During December 2014 IVAR carried out research on behalf of Local Trust to identify the distinctive features of their funding model and the journey so far in developing that funding approach.
- Resident control
- Time and pace
- Willing to take risks
- Light touch and flexible
- Sustainability through making investments and maximising assets
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Resident control
This is the core principle of Local Trust's funding model, from which four key features flow. The focus is on investing in strengths and assets that exist locally, rather than the deficit model (needs-based funding) that has characterised many community programmes in the past. The Big Local programme aims to fit around, and not impose external priorities on, the resident volunteers who are at the heart of the programme.
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Time & pace
Big Local areas have at least ten years to spend their funds. The areas are not bound by annual spending targets – they can decide when, as well as where, to spend. The time-frame reflects how long it can take to develop a Big Local Partnership and build strong relationships between Local Trust and the Big Local areas.
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Willing to take risks
Local Trust has a positive attitude to risk and accepts that not everything will succeed. The emphasis is on the importance of building strong relationships with Big Local areas as the basis for trust. Proper oversight of public money is balanced with the commitment to not interfere.
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Light touch & flexible support
Enabling, not doing for, in line with principles of resident control. Support is there when areas want it, with a flexible range of options on offer, including:
- A small central team, who produce guidelines, reviews, inspiration and troubleshoot
- Outreach through reps
- Specialist support through national partners
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Sustainability through making investments & maximising assets
By bringing together local talent, ambitions, skills and energy from residents, groups and organisations who want to make their area an even better place to live. As Big Local activities progress, residents build long-term networks and capacity.
Solutions are not imposed from the outside – residents are treated as assets themselves & trusted to lead.
Research report
Big Local foresighting: Feedback report
Government reforms: What do they mean for Big Local areas?
This report focuses especially on the effects of public spending cuts and welfare reform, including poverty among people in work, reduced benefit entitlement and housing hardship. The report brings together government policy, national data and a modest series of conversations with Big Local reps.
People’s capacity to get involved may be affected by personal hardship; difficult times may have knocked their confidence; or there may be real or perceived prejudices against people who are out of work or going through other kinds of difficulty.
Research reports:
Big Local foresighting: Feedback report
Leila Baker, Ben Kyneswood, Marilyn Taylor
Latest research
Research reports:
People, places and health agencies: Lessons from Big Local residents
Leila Baker, Helen Garforth, Marilyn Taylor, Katie Turner
This research addressed two questions:
Do Big Local areas and health agencies have common goals?
How can they develop workable relationships?
Earlier reports
read moreDownloads 
Downloads
IVAR (2015) Funding for Resident Control: The Local Trust Experience So Far
IVAR (2015) Building on Assets: The Local Trust Approach
IVAR (2013) Big Local: What’s New and Di fferent
IVAR (2014) Big Local Annual Learning: Review 2012 to 2013: Final Report
IVAR (2014) Big Local Foresighting: Feedback Report
IVAR (2015) Funding for resident control: The Local Trust experience so far, London: IVAR
IVAR (2015) Building on assets: the Local Trust approach, London: IVAR
IVAR (2013) Big Local: what’s new and different London: Institute for Voluntary Action Research
IVAR (2014) Big Local foresighting: Feedback report. London: Institute for Voluntary Action Research
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