This report provides an overview of the findings of the fourth and final wave of research to assess the impact of People’s Health Trust’s Local Conversations and Active Communities programmes, as well as a detailed assessment of all four waves of research collated together.
The research was undertaken independently by Social Life. The fourth wave of research took place in between October and December 2023, about eight months after the third wave. The goal of this research is to understand the ways in which community-led projects can improve health and wellbeing outcomes. The research took place with practitioners and project participants from the Trust’s Local Conversations and Active Communities funding programmes in England, Scotland and Wales.
Through in-depth questionnaires, both shorter and longer-term changes in both neighbourhoods and the residents taking part were found. These findings have also been considered against comparisons with nationally available datasets (Community Life Survey, Understanding Society, the National Survey for Wales and the Scottish Household Survey).
Social Life found evidence that participation in the Trust’s programmes has a significant positive impact on participants’ confidence, knowledge and skills, as well as supporting the building and strengthening of social connections. Those taking part also reported increased levels of belonging to their neighbourhoods and trust in their neighbours.
Participation also led to a significant positive impact on participants’ community power. While the relationship between community power and health was not clear from statistical modelling, survey findings and case study evidence show that across both programmes, community power contributes towards improved health and wellbeing outcomes over time.
These outcomes demonstrate a positive impact against some of the building blocks of health.
Key findings
- 54% of participants agreed that they can influence decisions affecting their local area, compared to 22% of people living in areas with similarly high levels of disadvantage
- Participation in both programmes led to strong levels of trust and belonging as well as significant increases in confidence, skills, social networks and friendships
- The two programmes engaged residents who faced significant health-related challenges, and endured sharper health inequalities than had been anticipated
- In the context of heightened deprivation, levels of personal wellbeing were particularly susceptible to contextual factors during the research period, including housing, the cost of living, the Covid-19 pandemic, and social relationships.
About the evaluation
Social Life independently researched the impact of People’s Health Trust’s Local Conversations and Active Communities programmes between 2021 and 2024. This fourth wave of the research was conducted in October to December 2023. 445 participants from Local Conversations and Active Communities projects were involved in the fourth wave of the research, and 1803 residents were involved over the total research project.
