Connecting for Good is a social movement working to address isolation and marginalisation across Coventry, empowering people in the city to make change through community organising.
We believe that the key to closing equity gaps is direct participation by impacted communities in developing and implementing solutions.
Connecting for Good (CfG) is an ecosystem of 18 community-led initiatives creating stronger, fairer Coventry communities in which local people come together to act on their challenges.
We worked with Anthill Collective to evaluate its impact over three years using a peer-led, mixed methods approach.
Read the final report here:
- Follow this link to read the full Impact Report (80 pages)
- Click this link to read the Executive Summary.
We have also pulled out some key impact headlines below.
We would like to say a big thank you to Anthill Collective and our peer evaluators. Now, the work continues.
“I was a stranger to the city trying to find connection. Now… I can point out stories, connections, actions on every corner.” (CfG member)
Report headlines
Increased power to make change
- CfG members are three times more likely than the national average to think they have the power to influence local decisions
- CfG members are much more likely to have taken part in civic activism, civic participation or civic consultation activities in the past 12 months than the national average.
Increased leadership capacity
- Over two thirds of CfG members reported increases in their ability to lead
- 85 per cent of CfG members say they are more confident leading.
“My proudest moment was when we sat down with the council and there was a noticeable shift in power towards us.” (CfG member)
Greater sense of belonging
- 88 per cent of CfG members said they felt like they belonged to their local community – significantly higher than the national average (65 per cent)
- Sense of belonging is also higher than the national average for groups more likely to experience isolation or marginalisation, such as disabled people (71 per cent versus 62 per cent) and people from ethnically minoritised communities (88 per cent versus 60 per cent).
Stronger community connections
- Members of CFG have very strong social support networks to turn to for help (98 per cent) despite many having traits that make them more at risk of being isolated and marginalised.
Greater collaboration across the system
- Many tangible examples of greater collaboration across Coventry, whether that’s with the council, community organisations or local businesses.
Further reading
Read our deputy CEO Mel Smith’s blog in this series ‘How we organise change in this place at this time’ by clicking this link.
Read ‘The glitter and the glue’ – why our relationships are the single most important thing we can do to change our own lives and the wider world – by David Robinson, founder of The Relationships Project.
In the third and final blog of our ‘Organising Change’ series, identity and leadership coach Reem Assil talks eloquently about the kind of leadership called for in these times in ‘The Power of Facilitative Leadership’.
Learn more about our Coventry movement against isolation and marginalisation ‘Connecting for Good Cov’ here.