What does ‘place-based’ really mean?

At its simplest, place-based work brings people, organisations and resources together to address the unique needs of a specific place. It’s built upon the recognition that every place has its own context, assets, and insight, and that these are critical to tackling social and environmental challenges effectively.

Yet many funding streams, services and strategies are developed nationally or around individual issues, even though communities experience challenges very differently on the ground.

A place-based approach starts with two simple questions:

1. What does this specific place need?
2. Who needs to come together to make change happen?

Rather than focusing on one organisation or one intervention, it looks at the wider ecosystem that includes groups like residents, community groups, councils, businesses, funders and public services.

Part of the answer lies in politics and policy.

Across England, devolution is shifting powers and resources closer to local areas. The idea is that decisions made closer to communities can be better tailored to local needs. Alongside this, initiatives such as Pride in Place reflect a wider policy focus on local identity, decision-making and investment.

There is also a growing interest in place-based philanthropy. The government’s Our place to give strategy argues that philanthropists, local authorities and civil society organisations can achieve more when they work together around a shared place, rather than through disconnected funding decisions. NPC produced a toolkit for MPs to support this plan.

One example of place-based work comes from Custom House in the London Borough of Newham, where residents faced uncertainty about the future of their homes, high street and wider community. Regeneration in nearby areas had replaced social housing and industrial land with luxury flats and hotels, raising fears that local people could be displaced or priced out.

In response, community organisation, PEACH, brought residents together to challenge decisions being made about their neighbourhood, develop an alternative regeneration plan, and push for genuinely affordable housing, secure homes and local businesses to be protected.

Another example comes from Grimsby, where Our Future worked with residents, organisations and local leaders to build a shared vision for the town. Over 1,100 people from across the town contributed their ideas for Grimsby’s future via online conversations, workshops, events, and public meetings. Together, they identified four priorities for action and who needed to be involved in delivering them.

Both examples started with local priorities and brought together residents, organisations and decision-makers to shape solutions collectively.

As challenging as it may be to align diaries, the greater challenge is creating the conditions where people with different priorities, responsibilities, and forms of power can actively work toward shared outcomes for their place.

It raises important questions for anyone hoping to work in this way. Who gets to define the shared outcomes for a place, and who is expected to adapt to them? How are tensions managed when local priorities do not align neatly with organisational strategies or funding requirements? And what would it take for collaboration to move beyond coordination and become a genuine sharing of power, risk and responsibility?

These questions sit at the heart of effective place-based working.

Place-based approaches are not a silver bullet. There is always a risk that ‘place’ becomes just another sector term that fails to catalyse meaningful change.

But the growing interest in place reflects something important:

Addressing them requires stronger relationships, better collaboration and a deeper understanding of local context. In our efforts to achieve this, how do we make sure communities remain at the centre of that work?

These are the kinds of questions we will grapple with at Ignites 2026, where leaders from across the impact economy will come together to discuss how place-based approaches, systems thinking, and collaboration can drive lasting change. We’d love you to join the conversation.

This blog, written by Sabrina Bengtzen, Consultant at NPC, was originally published on 5 August 2026 on ThinkNPC.org. View original article