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Research
Power and leadership

Power in Big Local: literature review

5 Apr 2018

A literature review exploring definitions of power and the meaning of empowerment within community development.


Read the research paper

Big Local is based on a vision of empowered communities making their own decisions on what is best for their area.

This briefing considers definitions of power and debates on the meaning of empowerment within community development. It shows how these concepts can help explain the power dynamics that have been revealed from the experience and evaluation of the Big Local programme in action.

This briefing is part of our Local Trust research papers series, originally shared internally with staff. A version of this paper was first published internally by Local Trust in 2018. It was published on the Local Trust website in April 2022.

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