New platform launched to support new wave of community activism

News item

Published

29th May 2020

Last updated

29th October 2020

Topic

Co-operatives UK

At a time when more people are discovering the power of community and co‑operation, a new easy to use online tool has been developed to help people find the help they need, to turn this surge of community spirit into meaningful action.

We’ve teamed up with 11 leading community sector infrastructure organisations in the UK to create an online network to inspire and enable local people to act for themselves on the issues they care about in their community. Launched this week, My Community provides a go-to space of trusted resources to help people find the information they need to turn community spirit into community action.

Latest research from partner organisation Power to Change shows that an overwhelming 68% of UK adults don’t want to lose the renewed sense of community spirit and are pledging to do more in their local area when the crisis finally ends.

Yet the data also shows that a quarter of those surveyed (26%) fear that vulnerable people in their community don’t know where to go for support, and 18% believe there is a lack of community resources in their area. My Community is a simple way to find all the latest tools, tips and ideas needed to achieve local aims, and help to make all communities a better place to live and thrive.

Online platforms have been an important means of coordinating community action during lockdown, with one in five people (19%) aware of new chat groups in their area and one in ten joining a community WhatsApp group.

John Atherton, Head of Membership, said: “The current crisis has prompted a new wave of community support, which we hope will turn into longer term co‑operation. For those people who want to take action, it can be hard to know where to start.”

Working with other organisations who champion and support communities, we’ve pooled our resources into one place so that people don’t have to spend hours searching for it. We want to make it easier for local people to find the support they need and act on the issues they care about.

– John Atherton, Head of Membership

My Community makes it easier for local people to find the guidance they need by aggregating the resources available from the 12 partner organisations and using curated search to help users streamline the search process and locate the information most relevant to them. All those who sign up to the platform will also benefit from tailored e-mail updates for new content based on their chosen areas of interest.

My Community is a partnership project led by Locality, in partnership with Co‑operatives UK, Power to Change, Acre, Groundwork, Local Trust, Plunkett Foundation, MHCLG, NAVCA, New Economics
Foundation, NCVO and Semble.