Building Thriving Communities
Communities, and the facilities they operate, play an increasing role in the delivery of services across the UK. So what works, in terms of sustainable management, is of importance in meeting a range of policy objectives for local and national governments. Additional Research, working with Context Economics, undertook research on behalf of the National Lottery Community Fund on the effective management and long-term sustainability of the community facilities supported by the fund.
Previous work had developed evidence about community asset transfer as a process and policy focus, but less was known about what it took to manage and sustain an effective community asset. This research sought to address the gap, highlighting specific challenges faced by projects, and making a number of recommendations for delivery.
Our research found that key challenges for grant holders included lack of funding, poor prior conditions of the asset, and a narrow income base. For instance, some 33 per cent of grant holders had reported a decline in the level of public sector grant. Further, three quarters of projects expected it to be moderately to extremely challenging to run their community asset over the next three years. Grant holders in central urban areas or areas of social or economic disadvantage were least likely to expect a surplus in the coming year. With the growing importance of digital delivery, barely over a third of community organisations accessed support for social media and communications (see also our research on digital enablement programmes for SMEs in Scotland).
“33 % of grant holders reported a decline in the level of public sector grant”
In response to these, and many other challenges, the research identified a number of useful management lessons for grant holders including effective project planning, the role of early stage support, and a focus on income diversification. In turn, a series of recommendations were made for the fund and other stakeholders on project selection processes and project support.
The research was UK-wide in scope and made use of mixed methods, including stakeholder consultation, a large-scale grant holder representative sample survey, as well case studies. The study helps both projects and funders to further develop strategies to respond to the challenges faced by communities to run assets effectively and highlights the important and varying role supported projects are making across the UK in enabling communities to address a range of social, cultural and economic objectives, often in areas of disadvantage.
Alastair McPherson, Additional Research.
amcpherson@additionalresearch.co.uk