As part of Power to Change’s open call for research, they funded the What Works Centre for Wellbeing to review of all the available evidence on how community businesses may contribute to wellbeing.
Key findings
Three key ways that community businesses work to improve community wellbeing are by engaging with the local community, developing the skills of local people, and strengthening community infrastructure. These processes nicely reflect the values found at the heart of community businesses.
- Engagement with the local community is vital to community businesses’ success. It allows businesses to adapt and shift to meet local needs. Outside of the services they run, these businesses provide opportunities for local people to get involved. This could be as a customer or beneficiary, as a volunteer, or a member of staff. Getting involved can reduce social isolation and enhance social relations
- Community businesses are great at focusing on developing the skills of local people. This often leads to increased confidence in communities – improving individual wellbeing and employment prospects which lead to a stronger local economy
- Community businesses operate services or premises which are often not commercially viable. These services provide vital lifelines to communities. Through strengthening community infrastructure in this way, community businesses work to improve local neighbourhood environments, making them better places to live
- The review highlights that across sectors, regions, and services run by community businesses, wellbeing outcomes are prominent. Key outcomes at a local level include community wellbeing, community involvement, enhanced neighbourhood environment, enhanced social relations and reduced social isolation
The review also found significant risks posed to community businesses. These may negatively impact community wellbeing. These focus around capacity and sustainability of businesses: recruitment and management of staff and volunteers, management and transfer of assets, availability of funding, and conflicts between obtaining funding and the values of the community business. These factors negatively influence wellbeing outcomes by restricting or stopping the community business from running, preventing the opportunity to achieve the outcomes it may when it is functional.
For more information to read the review click here