# Civil society weaker in Levelling Up priority areas, finds think tank

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2023/05/18/civil-society-weaker-in-levelling-up-priority-area-finds-think-tank/
- Published: 2023-05-18T10:34:45+01:00
- Author: Melanie May

**The poorest areas of the country see a third less local charitable activity than
the lowest priority areas for Levelling Up according to think tank New Philanthropy
Capital (NPC).**

The think tank’s data also suggests the gap has widened, with local charitable activity
falling between 5% and 6% since 2018. This compares to a less than 1% drop in wealthier
places during this time.

It puts forward the solution as being to develop civil society to promote local 
economic growth, arguing for: _“greater support for civil society as an engine of
growth if we are to truly tackle regional inequalities across the UK – such as through
new targeted social investment zones, a social investment fund and better evaluation
of what programmes work.”_

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NPC’s analysis is presented in a new paper, _[Building Blocks of Growth. Civil society’s role in tackling regional inequalities](https://www.thinknpc.org/resource-hub/building-blocks-of-growth/)_,
authored by Jasmine Birmingham, Theo Clay, Leah Davis, Ben Kili and Robbie Sinclair.

In more detail, its recommendations include a minimum of one targeted ‘social investment
zone’ in each of the [nine ITL 1 regions in England](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/participation-survey-technical-reports/geographical-boundaries-covered-in-the-participation-survey),
and equivalent in devolved nations. These, it says, should be informed by the indices
of multiple deprivation and calculations of charity density, and be in parallel 
with the 12 investment zones announced for the East Midlands, North East, Greater
Manchester and elsewhere.

The zones should contain co-developed ten-year plans to transform their area alongside
the local authority, civil society and community; partnerships with existing local
philanthropic bodies, including Community Foundations; funding for locally designed,
long-term civil society interventions to tackle local priorities, social issues,
and improve the health and educational assets of the community; new processes to
involve civil society organisations with decision-making to target support to needs;
and more. 

It also recommends a broader national approach to investing in disadvantaged areas
across the country, and a new national framework for tackling inequalities. This
would help to identify priority areas for support, with NPC recommending that central
government funding then be weighted to reflect these. Other recommendations here
include setting up a new ‘Social Investment Fund’, devolving decision making, and
trialling civil society interventions.

The full report is accessible on the NPC site.