Who we work with

National government

We work with national government  to create the conditions for communities to thrive.

We want communities have the power to change what matters to them. We work with government and civil servants to back community business.

Shaping and influencing policy  

We engage with and influence policy debates to help shape the conditions for community business thrive. We tackle the barriers they face with practical solutions that work for government and community business.  

Campaigning for change  

We back and help drive forward campaigns that are led by community business leaders to put important issues like the need for greater community power on the political agenda.  

As one of the founding members of the We’re Right Here campaign we have been calling for a Community Power Act that gives communities more power to shape the spaces, services and spending decisions in their local area.  

Through our research and advocacy, alongside others in the sector, and with the We’re Right Here campaign, we helped push the Labour Party to adopt a Community Right to Buy as party policy.  

We will keep pushing for greater change. We continue to play a central role in the We’re Right Here campaign, and will work alongside organisations like UCL Policy Lab and Future Governance Forum to make the case for a new way of governing that respects ordinary people and communities, as we did at the Britain Renewed conference.  

Work with us 

Have a policy idea you want to discuss? Get in touch.

How we are backing community business 

Spotlight: Back on the map

We are confident in the potential of community business to ‘take back the high street. We’ve backed community businesses taking on and reimagining vacant spaces and those making decisions about what should happen in their place.

Hendon’s neglected main high street, Villette Road, was a cause for concern for local residents, as well as for community business Back on the Map. When we called for community businesses to pilot Community Improvement Districts, Back on the Map saw the opportunity to start a high street revolution.

Quick wins like securing a 20mph zone and improving plants and signage, encouraged traders to join with 500 residents to build a new Heart of Hendon. The Hendon Pound Initiative brought an additional £9,000 to Villette Road, keeping local money in the local economy.

At the end of the pilot period, the CID continued to be the focus for partnership activities.

“Being part of the Community Improvement District pilot has allowed us to deliver on what the community wants and make Hendon, and Villette road, a place of opportunity to live and work “

Jo Cooper

CEO, Back on the Map

News and views

Why now is the time for a High Street Buyout Fund

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.
£2.5bn of levelling up funding stuck in limbo, public demand significant change in approach

£2.5bn of levelling up funding stuck in limbo, public demand significant change in approach

New analysis from think-do tank Power to Change identifies 20% of total levelling up funding that is stuck in limbo. This comes alongside fresh polling by More in Common showing public appetite for significant changes in how regeneration funding is delivered in the short and long term.
Delivering missions locally: meet the Liverpool City Region’s community businesses

Delivering missions locally: meet the Liverpool City Region’s community businesses

Are you at the 2024 Labour Party Conference? Join us on Tuesday 24 September to find out how some of Liverpool's community businesses are supporting the delivery of Labour’s missions at the most local level.