# Cross-sector report calls for new social contract to support community development

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2020/08/04/cross-sector-report-calls-for-new-social-contract-to-support-community-development/
- Published: 2020-08-04T09:31:32+01:00
- Author: Melanie May

**A new ‘social contract’ that promotes greater equality, increased opportunities
and wider collective action is needed to create a more secure and sustainable future
for UK communities, says a new report.**

 

 

## Advertisement

 [⌊Posthub advert. You create the campaign. We'll handle the postal journey. Get started at post-hub.co.uk.⌉](https://fundraising.co.uk/ads/posthub-20261007-300x250/)

 

The report, [_Resilient Communities_](https://www.cumberlandlodge.ac.uk/read-watch-listen/resilient-communities-cumberland-lodge-report),
by [Cumberland Lodge](https://www.cumberlandlodge.ac.uk/), in partnership with [The Young Foundation](https://www.youngfoundation.org/),
responds to recent events and developments such as the Covid-19 pandemic, the Black
Lives Matter movement, the Grenfell Tower fire, the Windrush scandal, and the global
climate and refugee crises.

 

 

 

It calls for greater collaboration between the private and public sector to drive
change, stating that funding alone is not enough and that community-focused and 
community-driven approaches must be at the core of any development initiative.

 

 

 

The report draws on the collective experience of policymakers, business representatives,
academics and research students, young people, faith leaders, activists and civil
society practitioners, to examine ways of helping communities in the UK become more
resilient, and provides a series of research-backed, practical ideas.

 

 

 

Published in two parts, the first reviews existing research and examples of best
practice, highlighting challenges to community cohesion and resilience in the UK
and approaches to strengthening it through collaborative and active citizenship,
faith-based communities, the arts and culture, sports and community leisure, business
and entrepreneurship, and education.

 

 

 

Part II presents 24 specific recommendations for UK policymakers and practitioners,
to support greater community resilience. These are grouped around five key ideas
that emerged from cross-sector conversations and research carried out earlier this
year:

 

 

 

 1. Fostering stronger community leadership and decision-making
 2. ‘Widening the circle’, to hear more voices
 3. Developing and increasing community spaces and community ownership
 4. Focusing the monitoring and evaluation of community resilience on meaningful impact
 5. Building on shared wisdom, to help create a better future.

 

 

 

The report was authored by Dr Sinéad Fitzsimons, a Research Officer in Education
and Development at Cambridge Assessment, part of the University of Cambridge.

 

 

 

She said:

 

 

 

> “This project has highlighted that funding alone will not lead to long-lasting
> community development. Increasing funding will make a difference, but more importantly,
> that funding needs to be used effectively. Both the private and public sector 
> must work together to ensure that community-focused and community-driven approaches
> are at the core of any development initiative.
> ‘The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted additional challenges for communities. 
> Although we could not have foreseen what would happen when we started this work,
> in many ways it is the ideal time to share the recommendations that have emerged,
> since the way many people think about community life is already changing.
> ‘A new social contract is needed that promotes greater equality, increased opportunities
> and wider collective action to create a more secure and sustainable future for
> all communities across the UK, including community members that have previously
> been forgotten or disenfranchised.”

 

 

 

Helen Goulden, Chief Executive Officer of The Young Foundation, added:

 

 

 

> ‘This report makes strong and clear recommendations for supporting stronger communities
> as we emerge into a long period of uncertainty and recovery. Like never before,
> we are seeing the potential of a society and economy with community and well-being
> at its heart. At the Young Foundation, we understand that it is the twin power
> of imagination and implementation – of both thinking and doing – that creates 
> positive social change. This report presents another clarion call for action to
> which we should all be paying attention.”

![Loading](https://fundraising.co.uk/wp-content/plugins/page-views-count/ajax-loader-
2x.gif)