Repository: covid-19

Rapid research COVID-19 Briefing #16: Community responses to COVID-19 – Connecting communities? How relationships have mattered in community responses to COVID-19

Published: 2022

This briefing, the 16th in a series seeking to understand how communities across England respond to COVID-19 and how they recover, explores the importance of ‘relational working’. It argues that approaches which rely on relationships to work, but also pay attention to the importance of relationships to the people that community groups …

The Power of Community: Learning from Bristol’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic

Published: 2022

During 2021, Voscur worked with academics and students from the University of Bristol to investigate how the sector had adapted to ensure delivery of vital services during Covid-19.

With many in our sector unable to deliver vital services by established means, we wanted to find out how our colleagues from across the sector had continued to ful…

One pandemic, many responses

Published: 2022

This is the third report from Local Trust’s research study exploring how 26 communities across England responded to the COVID-19 crisis.

It follows Strong than anyone thought, published in September 2020, which looked at the initial lockdown period and Now they see us, published in August 2021, which saw the communities adapting to a…

Rapid research COVID-19 Briefing #10: Community responses to COVID-19 – Striking a balance between communities and local authorities

Published: 2021

This briefing draws on research with five local authorities in England to examine how relationships between communities and local government have played out during the COVID-19 pandemic. It draws attention to a complex and interlinked response to the crisis from communities and local councils, founded upon a consistent and collaborative approac…

Charities responding to COVID: Summer 2021 Update

Published: 2021

This report builds two previous reports- published by Lloyds Bank Foundation in May and December 2020 respectively and how small charities have fared since the first national lockdown in March 2020. This provides a snapshot of the experiences of small charities throughout the crisis.

In it, Lloyds Bank Foundation share their findings of how ch…

The Value of Small in a Big Crisis

Published: 2021

Three years on from the publication of the landmark independent ‘The Value of Small’ study, researchers from Sheffield Hallam, the Open University, IVAR and the University of Wolverhampton revisited the four case study areas during the COVID 19 pandemic.

The 2018 study found that small and medium-sized charities – those with an annual in…

Rapid research COVID-19 Briefing #9: Community responses to COVID-19 – Communities and local authorities

Published: 2021

The varied ways in which local authorities have worked with communities in response to COVID-19 is of great interest for policymakers, researchers and practitioners at the local level. Earlier research on this topic can provide helpful frameworks and insights to inform current debates. This briefing looks at literature on the relationships betw…

Together We Plan!

Published: 2021

This handbook offers useful approaches to support Big Local partnerships develop and plan their work during the COVID-19 crisis and future uncertainty.

You can find more reports written or commissioned by Local Trust here.

Rapid research COVID-19 Briefing #11: Community responses to COVID 19 – Power and communities

Published: 2021

Community spirit has flourished and community power has been realised during the pandemic. But as thinking turns to recovery and ‘building back better’, it is timely to think critically about how power operates within and between communities, and to consider what this might mean for its potential for transformation. In this briefing we look…

Rapid research COVID-19 Briefing #12: Community responses to COVID-19 – Potential and limits of community power in a pandemic

Published: 2021

New concepts of community power have risen up the policy agenda during COVID-19. Communities have widely been seen as integral to meeting local needs and as having the capacity to respond rapidly to the pandemic. The idea of community power is often assumed, in policy terms, to be a universally beneficial force. However, this fails to address i…

Now they see us: Communities responding to COVID-19

Published: 2021

The study is based on primary data collection from 26 communities across England and a literature review. Over 500 learning conversations have taken place with members of the community, activists and workers, alongside interviews with Big Local reps (individuals appointed by Local Trust to offer tailored support to a Big Local area and sha…

Rapid research COVID-19 Briefing #13: Community responses to COVID-19 – Community hubs as social infrastructure

Published: 2021

Community hubs, halls and centres are a core component of the ‘social infrastructure’ of places, and they have come into their own during the pandemic. They provide direct practical and emotional support for people, enable people to stay connected, and also have a symbolic significance for communities. This briefing examines the role they h…