Pride in Place (PiP): Laying the groundwork for genuine community-led delivery

Yvonne Reinhardt and Sally Dickens encourage PiP Neighbourhood Boards and Councils to start thinking about further steps towards community-led delivery now.

In early December, the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) published the Pride in Place (PiP) programme prospectus. Building on the previous Plan for Neighbourhoods, the Government’s flagship regeneration programme stands out for its emphasis on a profound shift in power dynamics: moving from an initial phase where the Council acts as the ‘accountable body’, towards a model of genuine community-led delivery by year three.

So why should places think about this transition now? Year three still feels far away at the time of writing, and with Neighbourhood Boards leading on the 10-year Regeneration and the 4-year Investment Plan, large strides have been made already towards community-led decision-making. Why grapple with these questions now, whilst areas are still awaiting further practical guidance from MHCLG?

The answer is simple: A shift towards genuinely community-led delivery, that goes beyond a single decision-making forum and instead equips local people, businesses and voluntary organisations to lead on the further design and implementation of local regeneration projects, is far more than a technical shift on a governance chart. It requires in-depth and iterative engagement with the wider community, through planning, a detailed consideration of the available options, and community capacity building, to name just a few of the conditions that need to be in place to set local communities up for success.

We would, therefore, urge Neighbourhood Boards and Councils alike to start this conversation now, taking four fundamental considerations as a starting point:

1. Investing in community capacity

Whilst many places will have brought in technical expertise to support the creation of their 10-year regeneration and 4-year investment plans, Neighbourhood Boards should also consider investing in the social infrastructure and community capacity required to bring these plans to life and sustain momentum over the 10-year period. As a starting point, Neighbourhood Boards could think about ringfencing funding for independent community organisers to help widen the circle of participation. Other things to consider revolve around the upskilling of community organisations, where required, to allow them to get actively involved in project delivery, as well as an independent programme management function.

2. Embedding ongoing community outreach and participation with effective feedback loops

Neighbourhood Boards are a fantastic mechanism for effective co-production with a smaller group at the strategic decision-making level. To ensure that the wider community stays actively involved and feels a sense of ownership of the 10-year regeneration effort, places should design robust plans for proactive and ongoing engagement with residents, local businesses and voluntary organisations. As during the development of the plan itself, places need to ensure that they create effective feedback loops so that any community members who dedicate their time and energy to informing the programme are actively kept in the loop and understand what difference their input has made. Neighbourhood Boards should also start thinking about how they can create regular spaces for direct communication that will allow the wider community to hold them to account.

3. Embedding a community-first mindset early on

Putting communities first is not just a sentiment, but a significant shift in public sector ways of working that should manifest in a variety of practical ways from the get-go. Initially acting as the accountable body, Councils play an important role in facilitating and embedding community-led delivery early on. For example, by leveraging the flexibility built into procurement regulations to design tenders where ‘social value’ and ‘local embeddedness’ have a significant weighting, Councils can enable community consortia to compete with national providers.

Beyond their general function as part of the PiP programme and the considerations mentioned hitherto, Neighbourhood Boards should also leverage this time to think about ways to embed community ownership with and beyond the 10-year timeline. This will be very place and community-specific, but as an example, Boards might want to think about the long-term ownership structures of existing and planned community assets and the potential for community asset transfers. To facilitate such conversations, Neighbourhood Boards should continue to build and sustain strong links and relationships with other community organisations, to be able to champion their needs and ambitions.

4. Finding the right legal vehicle for community-led decision making

To prepare for the year three transition, Neighbourhood Boards need to firm up their ambitions as to what community-led delivery should look and feel like in practice to feel genuine. Some Neighbourhood Boards may want to consider transferring the PiP decision-making function to an existing community organisation. In this case, it will be important to find the right organisation and ensure they are set up to lead on the delivery of a £20m investment programme. Other areas may prefer for their Neighbourhood Board to continue leading the programme and transition to an incorporated entity. There are various legal vehicles that Boards may want to consider, including the creation of a Community Benefit Society (CBS) or Community Interest Company (CIC). Developing ideas and appraising different options in year one will allow areas to find the best way forward for their communities and set up a well-organised entity ahead of time.

Places that take these considerations seriously now will be in a brilliant position to deliver on their regeneration ambitions in a way that fosters the wider community’s sense of belonging and pride in place, not just to meet the year three milestone, but to create a lasting legacy that will benefit local people for decades to come.

If these points resonate with you and you’d be interested in discussing them further, please reach out to Yvonne Reinhardt at yvonne.reinhardt@mutualventures.co.uk and Mark Bandalli at mark@mutualventures.co.uk.

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