Together We Can! Putting people at the heart of community development: learning from a long-term, inter-generational community building partnership

Background: There is increasing recognition of the importance of communities to developing effective integrated care to respond to local context and build on the informal assets and networks central to people's wellbeing. There is though less understanding of how to achieve this in practice, with many examples of projects being short-lived and / or not co-created with local people. TogetherWeCan is an inter-generational community development partnership working in a diverse and economically marginalised locality, designing and delivering a range of activities with local people in order to improve their health and social wellbeing.

 

Approach: Together We Can (TWC) is a community project in Birmingham, run by three local grassroots organisations working side by side with residents since 2017. Funded by the National Lottery Community Fund and Big Local, TWC is not just about delivering projects or services. Instead, staff and volunteers walk alongside neighbours, helping people to connect, belong, and take part. TWC creates welcoming spaces, groups, and events where people can meet others, share what they know and love, and support one another. As confidence grows, more residents step into leadership roles, encouraging others to join in. TWC also helps to build partnerships with stakeholders from the statutory and voluntary sector, connecting local residents with service providers.

 

Results: An ongoing programme of evaluation includes semi-structured participant questionnaires and neighbourhood consultations, supplemented with case-studies and group reflections. Qualitative stakeholder interviews by a university researcher have explored the key principles and benefits of TWC regarding local collaborations.

 

The evaluation demonstrates positive impacts: stronger partnerships with around 60 local organisations collaborating, bringing more resources and support into the neighbourhood; more places to belong with 70 local groups and activities running, many now led by residents; support close to home, including practical help with food, money, housing, health and wellbeing; stronger community spirit and people young and old gaining skills, confidence and purpose, and encouraging others to join in too. This translates into tangible impact at the individual level: 85% of participants feel more connected to their community; 80% more able to share their passions, gifts and skills; 79% more able to cope when life is tough.

 

Implications: The project has important learning for integrated health and social care initiatives seeking to reflect the interests and assets of communities, 1) long-term, embedded presence results in community development being both trusted and effective, with lasting change needing sustained investment of both funding and personal dedication; 2) focusing only on “what’s strong, not what’s wrong” isn’t enough; future project planning needs to acknowledging real needs and struggles in the community, 3) it is likely that some activities will continue to need outside support, funding, or expertise but if these become neighbourhood-led – this gives power and agency to local people, even if not always run solely by neighbours on a voluntary basis.