Fabrizio Donati, Programme Manager at Community Catalysts, reviews the success of community micro-enterprise development in Bath & North East Somerset, 2023-2026.

Bath & North East Somerset Council had the commitment and confidence to invest in a clear vision for reshaping local care and support: growing flexible, community-rooted support options alongside traditional services, shaped around what matters to people and giving them more choice and control.

Commissioned and actively supported by the council, Community Catalysts led the work through local Catalyst Michael Auton, growing a strong network of community micro-enterprises: very small, local providers offering flexible care, practical help, companionship and wellbeing support in people’s homes and communities.

What was achieved

The project has helped grow almost 50 community micro-enterprises, supporting nearly 300 people each week and creating 80 local jobs.

What matters most is what those numbers mean for people: more choice between traditional care services and help or support from a very small local provider, shaped around their day-to-day lives and built on a more personal relationship.

For one person, that might mean personal care or support at home from a small local enterprise they know and trust. For another, it might be help with shopping, meals, transport or practical tasks that make staying at home possible. For someone else, it might mean joining a community-based activity, such as a photography walk, movement or creative wellbeing, that rebuilds confidence, reduces isolation and opens the door back into community life.

The recipe for success

The community micro-enterprise model builds on local skill, experience and commitment to create practical care and support. Community Catalysts’ specialist role was to help turn those ideas into safe, high-quality and sustainable offers. Through its Development Programme, Doing It Right Standards and practical advice framework, enterprise leaders were supported to build clear foundations around quality, safeguarding, compliance and good practice — while preserving the personal, flexible and community-rooted nature of what they offer.

The project’s success was rooted in the strong working relationship between Bath & North East Somerset Council and Community Catalysts. Community Catalysts brought the learning, tools and specialist experience gained from developing community micro-enterprise projects with more than 90 local authorities across the country. The council brought the local vision, leadership and determination needed to make that model work in Bath & North East Somerset — bringing practitioners into the conversation, encouraging the new offer to become part of everyday practice, and helping open wider community routes for care and support shaped around people’s lives.

Embedding the project in the local community sector was a fundamental part of delivery. For community micro-enterprises to flourish, local partners and connectors need to understand what they offer and feel confident pointing people towards them, while enterprise leaders need access to the right networks, training and business support so their services can grow safely and sustainably.

To support this, Community Catalysts worked with organisations already rooted in their local communities, including West of England Rural Network (WERN), 3SG, Cool Ventures and the Community Wellbeing Hub. This work included practitioner workshops, business support events and opportunities for community micro-enterprises to showcase their services to professionals and the wider community. These relationships and activities helped increase support for community micro-enterprises, made them more visible, and created trusted routes for people, families and practitioners to connect with the support available.

A choice of care and support

To help people find community micro-enterprises, Community Catalysts hosts Small Good Stuff, an online directory for very small providers offering care and support. Bath & North East Somerset has its own dedicated page, where providers who have completed the Development Programme and met Community Catalysts’ Doing It Right Standards can be clearly identified, alongside practical guidance to help people ask the right questions about reliability, safety, quality and compliance.

The value of community micro-enterprises becomes clearest in the way support feels in real life. One example is a community photography group, Keynsham Snap and Stroll, that brings people together for local walks. While high-quality photography is produced, its deeper value is social connection. The shared focus on photography makes it easier for some people to join in without the pressure of formal social interaction. It is a simple but powerful example of how creativity, nature and peer connection can reduce isolation, build confidence and help people reconnect with community life.

The project transition

The project transferred to West of England Rural Network (WERN) in March 2026, marking the next phase of local development with a trusted local organisation and committed partner throughout the programme. This is a strong fit because WERN’s Village Agents service has deep links with local communities and with people looking for care and support. Continuity has also been strengthened by the transfer of Michael Auton to WERN, where he now leads the work, enabling enterprise leaders, partners and local stakeholders to continue benefiting from established relationships, local knowledge and consistent support.

Community Catalysts will continue to underpin the next phase through its Development Programme, Doing It Right Standards, advice framework, project tools and wider national experience. This will help ensure that community micro-enterprises in Bath & North East Somerset continue to develop with the quality, compliance and practical support needed to remain safe, sustainable and trusted.