Across England, councils are realising a broad range of benefits through community action. These include direct benefits for the council, community wellbeing, economic benefits and cross-cutting benefits. Some of these are outlined below.
With such wide-ranging potential benefits for councils and residents, community action can change people's lives. However, it's worth noting that the benefits can take time to be realised and it may be difficult to attribute them directly to the council's role.
Benefits for the council:
- less reliance on frontline services
- decreased demand for social care and/or low-level support.
Wellbeing benefits:
- people can become role models within their community
- people feel empowered through learning new skills
- reduced social isolation or loneliness
- improved quality of life and better response to crisis events.
Economic benefits:
- higher levels of employment
- benefits to local businesses, such as stronger local economy
- reduction in reliance on welfare support
- training and skills opportunities
Cross-cutting and wider community benefits
- an increase in volunteering and the development of skills among volunteers
- better understanding of the social assets within the local community
- reduced duplication of services
- closer or new partnerships across agencies
- shared learning and joint funding
- making use of under-utilised community facilities or resources.