Local Trust’s Community Futures essay competition

We’re delighted to announce the winner and runners up in the 2024 Community Futures essay competition.

The winning entry came from Dr Suzanne Wilson, Research Fellow in Social Exclusion and Community Engagement at the University of Central Lancashire, for her essay: ‘Levelled Up or Left Behind? Fostering Community Power and Social Inclusion in Low-Income Coastal Communities’.

Suzanne’s essay presents evidence advocating for hyper-local, participatory approaches to build relationships and promote community power in low-income coastal communities. It outlines how creating the conditions for communities to meaningfully share power, and participate in decision-making that impacts their lives, can foster social inclusion and promote further political engagement. 

Runners up in the competition were: 

• Dr Jason Leman, Campaign Coordinator at the Neighbourhood Democracy Movement, for his essay ‘Community Futures: The Opportunity to Flourish’. 

• Dr Daniel Haslam, Lecturer in the Department for Public Leadership and Social Enterprise at The Open University, for his essay ‘The Democracy Audit: A Policy Idea’.

Read the essays

Congratulations also go to the following shortlisted entrants: 

• Joseph Cook, Citizen Science Academy Lead, UCL 

• Julie Aitken, Policy Panda Research

About the Community Futures essay competition

The Community Futures essay competition was launched in September 2024 by Local Trust, in partnership with the Centre for Regional Economic Social Research (CRESR) at Sheffield Hallam University and cross-party think tank Demos.  

Open to early career researchers and policy analysts, independent practitioners in the community sector, and graduate and PhD students, entrants were asked to write an essay of no more than 2,500 words answering the question: 

What is your policy idea for turning the most socially and economically disadvantaged neighbourhoods in England into thriving communities, what is the evidence behind it, and how might it best be successfully implemented with maximum impact?

Competition prizes included:  

• £5,000 for the winning entry, plus the chance to promote their essay through a meeting with policymakers at the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, and a cross-government roundtable with policymakers, organised by Demos.  

• £1,000 each for two runners-up.   

Thanks to all who entered the competition and a special thanks also to our judging panel which consisted of:  

• David Halpern (President and Founding Director of the Behavioural Insights Team)

• Stephen Aldridge (Trustee at Local Trust and Chief Analyst/ Chief Economist and Director of Analysis and Data Directorate at DLUHC)

• Polly Curtis (Chief Executive of Demos)
• Sarah Pearson (Professor of Social Research at CRESR)
• Matt Leach (Chief executive of Local Trust)
• Danielle Walker Palmour (Director of the Friends of Provident Foundation)

Find all three essays from the winner and runners up on CRESR’s website.

Photo: Dover Big Local. Credit: Local Trust/Zute Lightfoot