The Neighbourhood Fund
Understanding if and how empowering people to make decisions about their local neighbourhoods can prevent children from becoming involved in violence.
Evaluation type
Implementation and Process evaluation
Related Project
Aston Villa FoundationOrganisation name
Aston Villa FoundationFunding round
Neighbourhood Fund – Round 1Funding
£1,000,000Region
West MidlandsEvaluator
Nottingham Trent University
What does this project involve?
The Neighbourhood Fund aims to establish if and how empowering people to make decisions about their local neighbourhoods can prevent children from becoming involved in violence. It seeks to establish community violence prevention partnerships in specific areas with high levels of violence among children and young people and provides funding for them to carry out local action plans.
Each site progresses through three preparatory phases (feasibility, discovery, and co-design), which involve local organisations forming a steering group and creating an action plan to address violence in a specific local area, under the leadership of one organisation appointed as the lead co-ordinator. Each site then embarks on the action plan delivery phase which can last for up to five years.
Why did YEF fund this project?
The Neighbourhood Fund is part of YEF’s work to invest in and evaluate place-based approaches. Although the evidence that violence is concentrated in certain locations is strong, there has been a lack of robust evaluations of place-based approaches to violence prevention. These approaches have also tended to take a ‘top down’ approach and failed to collaborate with the organisations which operate in communities experiencing high levels of violence.
This report describes the initial implementation of the first round of the Neighbourhood Fund, which is taking place in five sites in England and Wales (Birmingham, Bradford, Cardiff, Manchester, and Norfolk). It examines the transition from the preparatory phases to the action plan phase, and the various approaches that sites are taking to delivering their plans. Early findings (based on the preparatory phases and first year of delivery) regarding how well the action plans are being delivered are also included, as are initial insights from the learning partners, Renaisi-TSIP, that have supported the sites throughout the process. This phase of the evaluation started in December 2023 and concluded in April 2024.
Data was drawn from qualitative interviews with 11 members of lead coordinator organisations and 28 steering group members/delivery partners using framework analysis, which organises content according to pre-specified themes. The report also drew on each site’s quarterly reports of programme implementation and their action plans, the learning partner’s reports for each site and for the programme as a whole, and observations of programme meetings.
Key conclusions
| The preparatory phases of the programme laid the groundwork for effective delivery by building trust among community groups and developing an understanding of local issues. The community-led steering groups, appointed during co-design, supported the legitimacy of the project and facilitated delivery. |
| The lead coordinator facilitated collaboration amongst the steering group members and was key to delivery. In many cases, the lead organisation during co-design was appointed as the lead coordinator. The two sites that appointed a new organisation as lead coordinator experienced delays in delivering their action plans. |
| All sites experienced challenges in preparing for delivery. The time taken for administrative processes led to delays in recruiting staff and delivery partners. Some sites also needed more time to refine their action plans. |
| Across sites, the focus of the year was on establishing the infrastructure and processes needed to deliver the planned activities. Examples included making the most of existing resources, setting up community grant processes, and building capacity for delivery. Lack of capacity within partner/grassroots organisations caused delays in some sites. |
| Planned activities varied across sites but often focussed on providing children with safe spaces for social interaction and personal development. Sites sought to make activities meaningful and inclusive for young people, with efforts to incorporate youth voice. However, young people’s engagement in activities varied. |
What will YEF do next?
All five sites are continuing to progress with the delivery of their action plans. YEF will conduct further evaluations to learn from their experiences and assess the impact of the Neighbourhood Fund on levels of violence.
Download the report
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Young ManchesterNeighbourhood Fund – Round 1In progress
Young Manchester
About the project We know that a lot of violent crime happens in very specific local areas. To make a difference, many believe that it’s essential to work with the people and organisations who live and work there – they know their communities best. Through our Neighbourhood Fund, we are investing and building long-term partnerships…Funding:
£1,000,000Evaluation types:
Impact evaluationIn progress -
Right to SucceedNeighbourhood Fund – Round 1In progress
Right to Succeed
About the project We know that a lot of violent crime happens in very specific local areas. To make a difference, many believe that it’s essential to work with the people and organisations who live and work there – they know their communities best. Through our Neighbourhood Fund, we are investing and building long-term partnerships…Funding:
£1,000,000Evaluation types:
Impact evaluationIn progress -
Born in BradfordNeighbourhood Fund – Round 1In progress
Born in Bradford
About the project We know that a lot of violent crime happens in very specific local areas. To make a difference, many believe that it’s essential to work with the people and organisations who live and work there – they know their communities best. Through our Neighbourhood Fund, we are investing and building long-term partnerships…Funding:
£1,000,000Evaluation types:
Impact evaluationIn progress