We work with regional and local authorities to grow our social economy.
Power to Change has supported the growth and development of community business since 2015. We value the role that local and regional government plays in growing the sector regionally.
We work in partnership with regional and combined authorities to understand the unique needs of their local social economy and community businesses.
We’ve worked with community businesses to shape the development of social investment funds and growth strategies in places like Liverpool City Region, Bristol, the North of Tyne and the West Midlands. And we bring in the wider social sector to identify regional priorities for investment and support.
Looking to grow the social economy in your combined authority? Get in touch with our Portfolio Manager, Natalie White.
Our partnerships
West Midlands Combined Authority
We’re working with West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) to support their goal to double the size of the social economy in 10 years, through implementing their social economy strategy.
We co-fund the role of Social Economy Strategic Lead, as well as match-funding WMCA to involve grassroots community businesses and minoritised communities in making it happen.
North East Combined Authority
Our partnership in the North East began in 2022 the North of Tyne Combined, which was absorbed into North East Combined Authority in May 2024. We are continuing to work with the Combined Authority to understand the needs of their social economy and develop a strategy or fund to invest and grow the sector.
As part of this partnership, we have launched a Flexible Social Finance Fund managed by Big Issue Invest, to provide community businesses and other socially trading organisations across the region access to the flexible and tailored finance and support they need to thrive.
Liverpool City Region Combined Authority
Liverpool City Region is transforming into a place with a diverse and vibrant social economy, circulating profits locally to tackle deprivation head on.
Since 2018, Power to Change has partnered with Liverpool City Region to help grow and develop the community business sector, as part of the wider social economy.
Investing in local networks
We designed Empowering Places to explore how locally rooted anchor organisations, operating in areas of high deprivation, could be the catalysts for new community business.
Over five years, we gathered learnings and evidence to model how local authorities, networks and community businesses can work together to grow the social economy, building prosperous places and opportunities for local people.
News and views
What we’ve learned from three years of evaluating Empowering Places
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