A collaboration between social housing provider, Stonewater, and Community Catalysts that resulted in practical tools to understand and develop the strengths of local people and their community.

The partnership

The partnership project was called ‘Communities Can’. It was an 11-month project and was led by a team of Stonewater staff and local people from Bedfordshire, Halifax and Southampton. It was convened, supported and facilitated by Angela Catley and Nick Sinclair from Community Catalysts.

The plan

The intention of the work was to ‘test and learn’ and to sustain the spirit of Communities Can beyond the partnership.

The project set out to:

• Support colleagues and stakeholders with practical tools to understand and develop the assets and strengths of local people and their places
• Better understand what was working well already in three local areas where Stonewater has a presence with a view to sharing ideas, approaches and positive practice
• Share stories and inspire others to take more community-centred approaches and to spread and scale learning to inspire impact across the wider organisation

The achievements

The project resulted in :

• Community action: local people taking action, developing their own community assets and supporting each other
• Identifying strengths and assets: a discovery and recognition of the strengths, skills and spirt of local people
• New learning and perspectives: a shifting perspective on the meaning of community (from the formal to the relational)
• Staff peer support and connection: a supportive community developing within Stonewater
• ‘Testing Tech’: people bravely exploring the potential for virtual and online hybrid events and meetings
• Cost benefit argument: a clear case for how greater attention and involvement in community leads to reduced costs and increased value.