Strengthening how we support communities: how do we create the conditions for change
That’s the challenge my team and I are working through. Across Adur & Worthing, we see incredible people stepping up in their communities—running mutual aid groups, organising local climate action, setting up food projects, and championing change in ways that are deeply embedded in place and relationships. Infrastructure plays a key role in supporting this work, providing vital resources, networks, and advice that help people navigate challenges and take action.
Now, we’re looking at how we strengthen the ways people can access support. We’re asking: what infrastructure do communities need to participate, organise, and build power in the future? And how can we ensure this infrastructure grows and adapts alongside communities?
This is about building on what’s working, exploring new possibilities, and commissioning support for new infrastructure.
As outlined in Section 1.1: The Power of Participation of our tender specification (here), our goal is to invest in the conditions that allow people to connect, collaborate, and make a difference in their communities.
1. Commissioning for participation and collaboration
Infrastructure exists to enable people to take part in shaping their communities. We want to ensure that support continues to evolve, providing spaces where people, groups, and networks can connect, learn from each other, and make change happen together.
?? What’s happening: As outlined in Section 2: What Infrastructure Are We Commissioning and Why, we’re exploring how multiple organisations, groups, and networks can collaborate to create an ecosystem of participation.
?? What we’re learning: The most impactful civic spaces are built around relationships and shared purpose. Supporting participation isn’t just about services—it’s about enabling people, ideas, and networks to grow in ways that work for them.
?? Example: The People’s Powerhouse movement has shown how funding networks and convening spaces can build long-term civic capacity, rather than just delivering short-term projects (People’s Powerhouse).
2. Growing opportunities for learning and action
People already have the skills, knowledge, and relationships to make change happen. We want to ensure that infrastructure supports them to amplify and sustain their impact, aligning with Section 1.3: Adapting to Change.
?? What’s happening: We want to invest in peer-led spaces for learning and action—places where people share experiences, test ideas, and build confidence on their own terms. We want to explore ways to make support flexible and responsive to what groups actually need.
?? What we’re learning: Different people and groups engage in different ways. Some benefit from formal training, while others want mentoring, connections, or simply the confidence to take the next step. Ensuring a mix of support is key to participation that is open and inclusive.
?? Example: The WeCanMake project in Bristol is an example of designing infrastructure around people’s lived experience—supporting residents to prototype and build their own housing solutions rather than trying to work within rigid planning systems (WeCanMake).
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3. Supporting participation in the spaces where it happens
Participation happens in different ways—through community kitchens, WhatsApp groups, social enterprises, and in places where people naturally come together. Our commissioning approach, guided by Section 1.4: Our Missions, ensures that the infrastructure we invest in reflects the many ways people already take action.
?? What’s happening: We’re looking at how we invest in spaces that support collaboration.
?? What we’re learning: The way we fund participation needs to support ecosystems. That means considering how different assets—community centres, social enterprises, informal networks—interact and sustain each other.
?? Example: The Participatory City initiative in Barking & Dagenham has demonstrated the power of investing in everyday participation—funding community kitchens, maker spaces, and shared resources that make civic life more accessible (Participatory City).
4. Making participation experimental and sustainable
One of the biggest challenges in civic participation is sustainability. Over the years, we’ve seen incredible projects start with enthusiasm, only to struggle when short-term funding runs out (including from when public services like ours cut that funding). If we want participation to be at the heart of how we work, we need to shift how resources flow, in line with the priorities set out in Section 2 of the tender specification.
?? What’s happening: We’re developing flexible community fund models—ensuring that the people closest to the challenges have power over the resources. This means supporting participatory grant-making, cooperative funding structures, and approaches that embed long-term sustainability rather than short-term project cycles.
?? What we’re learning: Long-term participation relies on accessible funding, shared resources, and the ability to sustain projects beyond their initial launch.
?? Example: The Edge Fund has pioneered participatory grant-making, ensuring that funding decisions are made by the people most affected by social issues, rather than distant funders (Edge Fund).
5. What’s next: Growing this approach together
This is about growing our approach to civic infrastructure so that more people feel able to participate. We’re learning as we go, and we want to work with others to shape what comes next.
?? If you’re interested in delivering the infrastructure for civic participation in our places in Adur & Worthing, check out our tender!
?? If you’re working in participation, democracy, or social innovation and are funding and supporting civic participation, we want to hear from you.