Get involved in the place-based systemic change project
Find out how you can get involved in a community of places and organisations thinking and working differently to achieve systemic social change.
In the Funding Place-based Systemic Change project, we built a framework for thinking, acting and funding in a way that focusses on using place as the vehicle for social change with long-term, systemic change being the intended outcome.
We’ll be sharing the learning from that work, and our plans for next steps, in a webinar at 12.30-2pm on 4th November.
What is place-based systemic change?
We see place-based systemic change as an approach to social change, rather than an outcome of it, that is defined by focus, time horizon, approach, scale and intentionality.
This working definition doesn’t refer to any one type of organisation or approach. Through our research we saw lots of examples – from large national charities to small community organisations and our framework is approach agnostic.
We grouped the approaches but what is more important are the stages that the different organisations and approaches shared:
Intention – an awareness that place-based working may be relevant
Established – focus on the provision of a defined programme
Connection – making sense of the interconnectedness of multiple interventions
Mutuality – sharing space and assets to engage with
Systemic – a long-term, place-wide approach to social change
What was interesting is how organisations move through the framework to do more systemic work. Sometimes they do it with support, sometimes it was individual or organisational effort and resources.
The really interesting place-based practice is in the movement from ‘connected’ to ‘mutuality’. This is the point at which organisations are trying to push the boundaries of their approach into systemic work collaborating with partners.
Find out more and get involved
We think this is an important conversation and the Funding Place-Based Systemic Change learning papers are just the start of how we understand and improve the way in which place-based systemic work is resourced and supported in the UK.
While there are examples of impact, the project showed that no organisation is currently working systemically because it requires all funders, commissioners and stakeholders in the place and the system to work together.
In the next phase of this work we’re inviting:
1. Places and organisations that are moving towards systemic change to join a community of practice.
2. Funders who are interested in the steps towards systemic change to test some practical tools to help places and organisations move through the steps in the framework.
Register below if you’d like to be involved.
Register for the event
John Hitchin will be presenting the learning from the Funding Place-Based Systemic Change project with the chair of the project steering group, Natsayi Sithole of Save the Children UK, and Stephen Skeet from Volunteering Matters online at 12.30-2pm on 4th November.
