If you’ve ever wondered what happens when you put hundreds of community champions, a fair few international guests, a couple of solicitors who’ve been hanging around Locality events for years and a Chief Executive who wants everyone to ‘mingle, mingle, mingle’ into Anfield Stadium… well, you get the ‘IFS100 and Locality Convention 2025’. 

It really is always a pleasure to return to the Locality Convention and at this point, I’m not sure if my colleague David Alcock and I are now part of the furniture; we have been proud to be supporting Locality and its members for a very long time. Over the years, we’ve seen the sector weather storms, influence change, and (most importantly) prove that community empowerment works in bringing long-lasting impacts to communities and lives. There’s never a shortage of inspiring stories and people to bring that message home loud and clear, reinvigorating us all to keep going. 

Pride in Place: Making sure we use our past experience

One of the headline topics for my conversations at the convention was Pride in Place, investing up to £5 billion over ten years in nearly 250 of the UK’s most disadvantaged communities. We are all delighted to see the announcement and look forward to supporting groups and local authorities in delivering the programme, but for those of us who have been around long enough, we do need to make sure that best practice and lessons learned from previous similar programmes, in particular the New Deal for Communities (NDC) programme, are not lost. There were many of us at Convention, including a few ex-NDC Chief Executives (you know who you are!), reminiscing on the lessons learned (including sharing a few battle scars!) about the NDC programme and how NDCs that were most successful achieved lasting change. 

For our clients, whether you’re a local authority, a housing provider, or a community anchor organisation, Pride in Place means refreshed opportunities and potentially new responsibilities, which to succeed, will need everyone working together with residents and the community at the helm. 

For now, we understand guidance is still evolving and more details will be released next year, but the appetite for partnership, community empowerment and long-lasting change is as strong as ever.

Community Powered Neighbourhoods: Anchors aweigh!

Speaking of community anchors, Locality’s latest report, Community Powered Neighbourhoods, is a must-read (and not just because it’s full of truly inspiring case studies). The report argues that if we’re entering a new age of neighbourhoods, then community anchor organisations (what the report coins ‘locally adored, nationally ignored’ institutions) are the backbone we need.

The report’s big message? Devolution can’t just be about the public sector ‘letting go’ - it’s about supporting communities to ‘power up’. That means ambitious, long-term investment in community assets, neighbourhood governance that puts anchors at the centre, and public service reform that values partnership over paperwork.

International inspiration: Convention goes global

In addition to all of the fabulous sessions sharing learning and supporting Locality and its members, this year’s convention was extra special as it was a joint event with the International Federation of Settlements (IFS), celebrating their 100^th year. We were joined by delegates from New York, the Netherlands, Sweden, Australia and beyond, bringing fresh perspectives and a bit of global glamour to Liverpool. The international aspect gave us a chance to see how other countries approach community-led change. It was a reminder that the challenges we face - and the solutions we find - are shared across not only borders but the world.

You’ll never walk alone (especially at the Locality Convention!)

As always, a huge thank you to the Locality team and all the organisers for pulling off such a vibrant, jam-packed convention again in Liverpool this year. The energy and passion in every session were a testament to the commitment and real progress happening across the sector, which we are proud to support. 

Here’s to everyone who made it happen, and to another year of working together to turn great ideas into lasting change. For those who didn’t manage to ‘mingle’ with us at the convention, please do get in touch; we’d love to be able to support you. Look forward to seeing you all in Manchester again next year.