55 results found

Evidence of the lived experiences of poverty in the UK

Published: 2024

This synthesis report outlines The Young Foundation’s work exploring the nature of poverty and low income in the UK since 2009. It feeds into a thematic review compiled for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation by GMCVO.

Communities doing it for themselves: Celebrating a decade of the Community Shares Unit

Published: 2023

It has been a decade since the Community Shares Unit launched in 2012 with over £210 million raised using this unique form of finance. This report aims to provide a detailed and inspiring update on the community shares market while celebrating key milestones, innovations and learnings over the last ten years.

Only Reconnect

Published: 2023

A report of the ‘Reconnection Summit’ that took place in October 2022. The summit was organised by the Institute for Community Studies andTPXImpact, in partnership with Engage Britain and its ‘Grassroots Advisory Network (a group of community activists and leaders from across the UK who act as advisors on the work of Engage Britain and identify…

How can events help build connected, happy and thriving communities?

Published: 2023

This inquiry was set up on the tenth anniversary of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games in order to learn the lessons of past events and to identify how we can capitalise on the power of events to facilitate and encourage wider social and economic change.

Chaired by Sir Tom Hughes-Hallett, the Inquiry’s 25 members have taken evidenc…

Community Pubs – A better form of business 2022

Published: 2022

This research used mixed methods to look at the size, characteristics and performance of the community pub sector in the UK. This is the eighth of such reports, building on what’s known about the sector as it becomes increasingly established. It can be used as an information resource and benchmarking tool for pubs, funders and support organis…

Understanding the lived experience of ethnic minority students in postgraduate research

Published: 2022

This report presents the findings from the first qualitative research on the experiences of ethnic minority postgraduate research students accessing and studying at GuildHE member institutions. It captures, through interviews, students’ perceptions and experiences of studying a postgraduate research degree at smaller and specialist higher edu…

“We need a Right to Buy, not to try”: How more urban communities can take ownership of their pub

Published: 2022

This publication explores how and why more urban community pubs could be developed in urban areas, and the policy changes and support needed to achieve this.

The report considers the opportunities and challenges facing groups looking at community ownership of a pub in urban areas. It also reviews the policy landscape and operating environment …

The role of HEIs in the climate action agenda

Published: 2022

This report considers the role of Higher Education Institutions in the climate action agenda. It explores how universities are responding to the ‘net zero’ challenge, how they are protecting and preparing places and communities from climate impacts, and how they might extend a ‘civic’ approach that works in partnership with other local …

Valuing and enabling citizen science: Lessons from the Citizen Science Exploration Grant programme

Published: 2022

In 2019, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) funded 28 Citizen Science Exploration Grant projects. This was part of its ongoing work to explore how researchers can work with diverse groups to participate with, and collaborate in, the research and innovation process – and to test opportunities for building citizen science methodologies into resear…

Community Shops – A better form of business 2022

Published: 2022

This comprehensive publication looks at the community shop sector in the UK. It was first published in 2011 and has grown with additional information year on year. The report can now be used as a startup guide for new groups, a benchmarking tool for existing community shops, and is used by funders and support organisations to futureproof servic…

Volunteering Journeys

Published: 2022

A rapid evidence review from the Institute for Community Studies, commissioned by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to explore young people’s experiences of, and attitudes to, volunteering.

Volunteering Journeys examines how young people perceive and experience the UK’s current volunteering ‘offer’, and how it cou…

An equitable future for research and innovation: Building sustained community involvement in knowledge production

Published: 2022

This summary report shares the results of discussions with community representatives about how we can improve the ways in which knowledge is produced, used and communicated across the UK. These discussions focused on how formal institutions such as government, research funders and universities – which is typically called ‘the…

Top

Community research

The Institute for Community Studies is powered by The Young Foundation, a not-for-profit tackling societal issues with a collaborative, multi-disciplinary approach.

Contact our team

Social innovation

Involving people from diverse sectors, The Young Foundation shapes game-changing initiatives.

Get in touch