We work with local and combined authorities and the wider public sector to develop innovative approaches to diagnosing and addressing community need and strengthening social capital in neighbourhoods.
We can provide unique access and insight with the latest diagnostic tools and data, harness our experience and history of what works to support communities and rebuild social capital. Get in touch with 3ni Director Dan Crowe to discuss how we can help [email protected]
Our expertise combines community engagement, deep listening, facilitation and co-production with ground-breaking data and diagnostic tools.
Building up supportive social infrastructure within communities can help strengthen local stock of social capital, helping serve as a catalyst to positive transformation in health, wellbeing and the local economy.
1. Community-led: communities are the experts in their local area. Our work focuses on building and developing their unique strengths and assets to support resident priorities and initiatives.
2. Hyper-local: our approach supports and resources areas with high levels of community need in ‘natural neighbourhoods’ identified by residents, as opposed to artificial geographic boundaries
3. Data-driven: we use quantitative and qualitative data to map priority areas, diagnose needs, posit prescriptions, support investment, monitoring and evaluation
4. Partnership-based: we focus on building local area partnership arrangements, harnessing existing VCSE networks, assets and expertise
5. Integrated: we prioritise alignment of local agency strategy and practice because cross-local government and wider public sector collaboration is critical to delivery.
6. Long-term: we know that improving the local neighbourhood and life outcomes for residents in under-resourced areas requires ongoing support
Our approach enables support for neighbourhoods based on specific challenges and community need as diagnosed by Discovery, alongside qualitative research and community engagement.
By focussing on directing investment to build local connections, we help develop relationships and community resilience, improve socio-economic outcomes and strengthen social capital that over time can lead to reduced demand on services.
Targeted investment to building community capacity and social capital in the city’s doubly disadvantaged neighbourhoods is key pillar of our ambitious City Prospectus: Future 100, and Dan has helped us in developing a new long-term approach to supporting local people to devise and deliver their own plans for their neighbourhoods.
Jon Rouse, CBE, Chief Executive, Stoke-on-Trent City Council
Our unique diagnostic tool: Discovery enables local authorities and other key partners to map levels of social infrastructure and community need at the hyperlocal neighbourhood level, in combination with deprivation levels and other health, wellbeing, employment and education metrics.
The tool uses Community Needs Index data to looks at social infrastructure across civic engagement, community spaces, places and networks; and the strength of digital and physical connectivity to key services. Discovery visualises and maps these factors at the neighbourhood level, defined in terms of Lower-Layer Super Output Areas (LSOAs) representing 1000-3000 people.
Discovery is enabling local authorities to target investment and design interventions according to neighbourhood strengths and needs. This helps develop social capital strategies to address neighbourhood deprivation and improve community resilience. A strengths-based approach is enabling councils to bring greater efficacy and impact to the most disadvantaged neighbourhoods.
Read more about our ground-breaking diagnosis tool below.