Second tranche of pioneering Community-focused pilots announced
Five new Community Improvement Districts created in bid to save England’s struggling high streets
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Tim Davies-Pugh appointed new CEO of Power to Change
Tim Davies-Pugh has been appointed as the new Chief Executive of Power to Change. He takes over from Vidhya Alakeson OBE, who stepped down as Chief Executive in February 2022.
Understanding community life at a hyperlocal level
Power to Change commissioned Kantar to conduct a ‘hyperlocal’ version of the Community Life Survey, focused on six places in England participating in the Empowering Places programme. This blog outlines some initial findings on the relative impact of our work in each area.
New research programme on levelling up and social infrastructure
A new programme by Power to Change and the British Academy will help to better understand how social infrastructure approaches can contribute to the government’s levelling up agenda.
Queen’s Speech 2022: First steps in tackling high street decline
Power to Change’s Ailbhe McNabola responds to the Queen’s Speech 2022 and what the proposed Bills mean for communities.
Nick Plumb joins High Streets Task Force
Power to Change’s Nick Plumb is appointed to government task force tackling high street decline.
Why now is the time for a High Street Buyout Fund
Power to Change’s Nick Plumb outlines why community ownership on the high street is essential to their survival.
Britain’s high street crisis reaches tipping point
New report reveals a decade of accelerating shop closures and calls for a new fund to help local people secure property on the high street.
How funders can support community business asset ownership
Asset ownership can have an impact on community businesses and the people they work with. We look at good practices for funders looking to support community businesses with asset acquisition and management.
Recognising the value of community organising
What is community organising? And what potential does it have to tackle local issues? Bonnie Hewson explores.
Diversity, equity and inclusion update
Laying out our diversity, equity and inclusion plans for the future, and our achievements so far.
Levelling Up White Paper: Power to Change responds
Power to Change responds to the publication of the Government’s Levelling Up White Paper.
It’s vital that levelling up delivers for communities
Power to Change’s Nick Plumb outlines the four things he’ll be looking out for in the Levelling Up White Paper when it publishes in the coming weeks
House of Commons committee publishes high street recommendations for government
Power to Change responds to the House of Commons Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee’s high streets report.
Measuring the impact of community businesses at a neighbourhood level
We are continuing to build the evidence base about how community businesses impact on health and wellbeing, employability, social isolation, their local environment, and much more.
Fan Led Review of Football Governance publishes its recommendations
Power to Change responds to the Fan Led Review of Football Governance
Real Ideas: From green shoots to mighty oaks
Real Ideas are a pioneering social enterprise supporting people to build better futures. In this blog, Ed Whitelaw reflects on the role of community business in parks and the importance of community climate heroes.
How will COP26 encourage community climate action?
How will COP26 encourage community climate action? Will Walker, our climate action manager, blogs from COP26.
Football fans across country demand ownership of football clubs
In a joint letter to Tracey Crouch MP ahead of the publication of the Fan Led Review of Football Governance, supporters trusts are calling for action to support fan and community ownership of our football clubs.
Carbon Co-op: The people powered revolution
Carbon Co-op are a community energy organisation based in Greater Manchester. In this blog, Jonathon Atkinson discusses the importance of community climate action and reflects on what it all means at COP26.
Sandra Salazar D’eca: Everyday Climate Hero
Sandra Salazar D’eca, founder of Go Grow With Love & head grower at Black Rootz, has been named as an Everyday Climate Hero in a new campaign shot by renowned photographer, Rankin.
Ibe Hayter: Everyday Climate Hero
Ibe Hayter, founder of Cycle of Life, has been named as an Everyday Climate Hero in a new campaign shot by renowned photographer, Rankin.
Spending Review invests in social infrastructure but more needed
Reaction to the Chancellor’s Autumn 2021 Budget and Spending Review announcement.
Sector growth and soaring confidence for community pubs and shops
Community pubs and shops demonstrate soaring confidence and sector growth despite the pandemic.
Levelling up: a story from Bromley-by-Bow
As consensus builds around the importance of social infrastructure to deliver the government’s levelling up ambition, Jenny Sansom shares the story of east London’s Bromley-by-Bow Centre.
Invitation to apply: Community development and pilot programme
Be part of a unique opportunity to co-design a new support role in a community development and pilot programme. This new role, a community coach, will support groups with community-led housing and asset development.
Locality and Power to Change join the VCSE Health and Wellbeing Alliance
Locality, in partnership with Power to Change, has joined the VCSE Health and Wellbeing Alliance (HW Alliance), an initiative of the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England and NHS Improvement.
Party conference diary: Momentum behind community power building, but can we sustain it?
With levelling up the talk of the fringe, Nick Plumb reflects on day two at Conservative Party conference and growing interest in community power.
Older voters sceptical of Government’s levelling up agenda
The public, and older voters especially, are extremely sceptical about the likely impact of the government’s levelling up agenda in their community.
Party conference diary: How will the Conservatives level up local communities?
Hot on the heels of Labour, this week it’s the turn of the Conservative Party to gather for its annual conference. Jenny Sansom reports from Manchester on what the party’s focus on levelling up means in practice.
Party conference diary: What’s Labour’s solution to the high streets question?
It’s been an eventful few days at the Labour Party conference. In the second of his conference diaries, Nick Plumb reflects on Labour’s bold spending pledges for greening the economy and its solution to our struggling high streets.
Party conference diary: How will Labour tackle insecurity and stagnating opportunity?
As Labour Party members gather in Brighton this week for its first in-person annual conference since the start of the pandemic, Nick Plumb reports back on how the party is planning to empower local communities.
How to make places even stickier
With the launch of two reports calling on government to put communities in the lead and invest in social infrastructure in order to achieve levelling up, Ailbhe McNabola reflects on the findings and what needs to happen next.
The Empowering Places model and emerging impact
Following on from the progress update of Empowering Places in January of this year, Bonnie Hewson shares a roundup of our learning to date.
Community tech in action
This blog post is the third of three outlining the research that Promising Trouble has undertaken for Power to Change, answering the question, “How can Power to Change inspire greater uptake of community tech?”
What is community hardware and software?
This blog post is the second of three outlining the research that Promising Trouble has undertaken for Power to Change, answering the question, “How can Power to Change inspire greater uptake of community tech?”
Why community organisations need community tech
This blog post is the first of three outlining the research that Promising Trouble has undertaken for Power to Change, answering the question: “How can Power to Change inspire greater uptake of community tech?”
A new era for community research
Six years of cutting-edge research into the community business sector, from Power to Change, will now be hosted by our partners, the Institute for Community Studies.
To level up, put communities in the lead
If government is serious about levelling up, it must put communities in the lead .
Abandon centralised ‘Levelling Up’ or risk failure
This new report explores why the government must abandon its centralised Westminster-led approach to ‘Levelling Up’ or risk failure from outset.
Saving the high street and giving it a Platform
Rebecca Trevalyan is on a mission to make it easier for communities to access the land and property in their town centres.
Power to Change launches new five year strategy
Our mission is to strengthen community businesses to tackle some of society’s biggest challenges at a local level.
Let communities and councils decide what happens on their local high street
The government should give communities more say over their local high streets’ future and enable councils to support them to do this.
Support communities to save their local pub
From next week pubs will literally open their doors once more as we’ll finally be allowed back inside in groups of six or fewer. Many of us are now used to booking weeks in advance to huddle under a heater, but the next stage of the roadmap will allow even more of our much-missed pubs to reopen.
Platform: A town centre property innovation programme
How do we make it easier for communities to access town centre property and space?
Fans must control football clubs for communities to thrive | Vidhya Alakeson
Football, the clubs and their grounds, are about far more than business. They sit at the very heart of many communities. They are vital assets that bring communities together, build identity and pride and make a significant contribution to the local economy. They are the ultimate community business.
Create new £400m fund to help football fans buy their clubs
Our new report calls for government to put a Community Club Ownership Trust at the heart of football reforms as part of its new review following the failed European Super League.
Power to Change to remain open for business with new National Lottery investment
New report reveals impact of Power to Change on community businesses across England in just six years
Recovery of high streets in coastal towns to be tracked following pandemic
High Street Tracker to test impact of social infrastructure on economic resilience.
Community businesses form £1bn beating heart of local areas
New research shows community businesses have been vital rallying points for villages, towns and cities, promoting public health, reducing social isolation and improving community cohesion during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Biting the ‘better’ bullet: Can community business make places better?
What do we mean by ‘better places’? Can community businesses really transform their local areas?
Opening the lid on Empowering Places: Welcome to the year of accountability
Programme manager Bonnie Hewson reflects on the progress of the programme
Three key recommendations from Onward’s new report
We need to give communities the power and capital to shape their neighbourhoods
“Levelling Up” after the lockdown must focus on community revival
“Levelling Up” after the lockdown must focus on community revival as well as economic growth, MPs and charities demand.
Use returned business rate relief to help save the UK’s troubled high streets
The Covid-19 pandemic has pushed many UK businesses deep into financial crisis, but not all have suffered equally. In fact, the pandemic has produced some unlikely winners in the retail sector.
What’s next for the UK’s high streets?
Our aims to put community at the heart of town centres, by Policy Manager, Nick Plumb.
Power to Change’s response to the Government’s Spending Review 2020
Responding to the Government’s Spending Review 2020, CEO of independent trust Power to Change Vidhya Alakeson, said:
Match Trading® boosts community organisations annual trading income by £9,190
New report reveals innovation driving community business trading success
The future of Power to Change and what it means for the community business sector
When the word ‘change’ was baked into our name when we opened our doors in January 2015, we meant that as a pointer towards the transformative effect that community businesses can have in the places where they are based.
As high street giants fall, community shares help businesses thrive
A new report shows that local people can save the spaces they care about for as little as £10.
Community ownership key to survival of Britain’s High Streets
Local community access and ownership of key buildings on the UK’s thousands of high streets could be pivotal to their future survival according to a new report commissioned by independent trust Power to Change.
Community businesses plan for expansion in wake of Covid-19 crisis
New report from Power to Change shows 55% of community businesses expect to open up new line of trading activity.
New report reveals community businesses generate more income compared with other third sector organisations
Community businesses are more financially independent, generate more income and are more invested in shaping social and public policy to improve their local area than other types of third sector organisations, according to new research published today.
Power to Change’s CEO joins High Streets Task Force Board
As our beleaguered high streets stand at a critical crossroads, Power to Change’s CEO, Vidhya Alakeson, joins the High Streets Task Force Board to help shape a new future for our urban centres.
High streets face a ‘new normal’ with old problems
Vidhya Alakeson writes about the future of high streets post-lockdown for the Financial Times
Cut the number of empty shops by putting communities in control of high streets – new report
Communities themselves are perfectly placed to respond to the crisis on the high street and should be empowered and supported to own more high street properties, according to a new report from Power to Change.