Rapid review of community agency and control, as final outcomes, or enablers of place-based interventions to improve community wellbeing

To help explore to what extent and how improved community agency and control can lead to improved community wellbeing, we commissioned New Local to conduct a rapid evidence review. 

Key findings from the 2023 review

The research identified common features that influence collective agency and control at the community level:

• Opportunities for community connections
• The ability to make decisions
• The availability and size of funding
• The maturity of community agency, including existing relationships

It also highlighted:

• community agency and control’s value as a long-term endeavour.
• that communities have different starting points and do not necessarily respond in the same way when exercising their agency and control.