What does it mean to sustain place-based systems change?
A new inquiry led by Renaisi
Over 2024-2025, Renaisi is leading a new inquiry into the question 'What does it mean to sustain place-based systems change?' Together with a group of partners, we are exploring what it takes to sustain place-based systems change in the long-term, and how funding and financing must evolve to support this.
We know that this is a time when long-term, place-based change has more national traction than ever. At the same time, our recent work with partners and places revealed a trend: systems have limited capacity to sustain place-based systems change initiatives as funding cycles come to an end. Large-scale place-based systems change initiatives generally receive funding for two to five years, but systemic change rarely happens within this timeframe, and practices and initiatives developed are expected to be sustained beyond this. With extreme financial challenges for local authorities VCSE sector, systems currently lack the resources to absorb and embed this change beyond the initial injection of funding. The risk is that efforts to work in place-based and systemic ways may regress.
This is a critical time to explore how to sustain place-based systemic change.
Drawing on the input of our Place-based Systems change Community of Practice, our inquiry will focus on the following themes:
- Long-term resourcing – How can we look beyond traditional funding models to ensure long-term resourcing for place-based systems change?
- Transitioning well – When a funding period comes to an end, how can a funder transition out of a place in a way that strengthens sustainability and maintains local momentum?
- Accountability and ownership – How does the ownership of a place-based systems change initiative effect its sustainability?
- Designing for sustainability – How can place-based systems change initiatives be designed to sustain impact while the system(s) they are working in rapidly change?
- Evidence as a tool – What role does learning and evidence play in sustaining place-based systems change?
Our partnership group is dynamic and expanding. (add info on who is currently includes) Partners contributions range depending on the expertise and capacity of the partner, ranging from insights, time, resource and funding.
We know that this is a pressing question for a huge range of place-based practitioners, funders, facilitators and convenors that we work with – and so have built lots of ways for people to be involved.
To find out more about how to join the inquiry, please contact Kezia Jackson-Harman at k.jackson-harman@renaisi.com
