Our new research report titled "A Place to Call Home 2.0" was published by The Ubele Initiative in 2023 and revisits our 2015 study by exploring the benefits and value of owning cultural and community assets within Black and racially minoritised communities. This research would not have been made possible if not for the funding support provided by Power to Change.
Here’s what the research uncovered:
Key Challenges
The research engaged 179 participants directly through a range of participatory processes and highlights that many of the challenges identified in 2015 persist, with the addition of new complexities. These challenges are categorised into external and internal factors.
External Factors:
Systemic discrimination: A significant concern is the presence of both institutional and structural racism. As one participant noted, there is a need to recognise "discriminatory practices and disadvantages arising from structurally constructed narratives and practices". The report indicates that 35% of respondents felt that institutional racism was a barrier to acquiring a physical asset, while 40% pointed to structural racism as a stronger factor. Associate Director for Community Wealth Building, Phil Tulba observes in his presentation at Locality Convention 2024 that discrimination can manifest in "exclusionary behaviors, tone and language," and "extra scrutiny" when applying for funding.
Inadequate funding: Black and racially minoritised-led organisations face significant barriers in accessing funding from public and private sources. A participant described the struggle of "lurching from one support opportunity to another in the hope that they will secure something". Lord Adebowale’s Commission on Social Investment titled "Reclaiming the Future" evidences significant "structural barriers to BAME-led organisations in accessing finance".
Regeneration and land use: The threat of redevelopment and gentrification also poses a risk to community spaces, with many organisations leasing or renting from local authorities9. This is further evidenced in Locality’s "Places and Spaces" report which references how local authorities are "disposing of potentially surplus assets". There are particularly low levels of CAT in London, where land values are high, and councils are less likely to have CAT policies. As stated in "Places and Spaces", "some local authorities are integrating an explicit community dimension to this, many more have no strong community focus," which results in the loss of public assets to private hands.
Internal Factors:
Governance and leadership: Many organisations struggle with effective management and governance, with only 25% of interviewed organisations having a fully functional board of trustees. One respondent stated that some trustees are "only doing them a ‘favour’ and do not genuinely get involved," leaving the organisation vulnerable12. The report notes the need for a "business-like model".
Financial instability: Many organisations operate with limited financial reserves. 69% of the surveyed organizations held zero to three months of reserves, with 42% having no reserves at all Furthermore, 52% of responding organisations were either micro or small, in terms of their average annual income.
Capacity issues: Organisations often lack the resources and capacity to develop robust business models, secure funding, and demonstrate their impact. As one participant noted, "the constant pressure to monitor and evaluate funding streams, whilst also applying for funding extensions and looking out for new funding opportunities, is extremely time consuming and difficult” while delivering essential services. .
Limited community engagement: While all talked about ‘reflecting’ or ‘representing’ the needs of their community, very few took part in local consultations. Some organisations also experience "consultation fatigue," where "people have had bad experiences in being involved with planning and consultation processes where they have not received any response"
The Impact of COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated existing challenges. The report notes that many organisations were disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, given the links between isolation, social class, ethnicity, housing and health, and that "in many of these organisations, they were potentially quite heavily volunteer led, operating in key worker and frontline services".
Key Data Points
50% of participants were based outside of London
10% of respondents to the survey questionnaire (n=55) indicated owning their own assets, 62% were renting or leasing under 5 years lease arrangements while 18% were leasing for up to 10 years from private landlords and local authorities
The majority of organisation’s charitable purpose was ‘The advancement of citizenship or community development’ (38%) and ‘The relief of those in need, by reason of youth, age, ill-health, disability, financial hardship or other disadvantage’ (21%).
33% of users of community assets were children and young people
48% of organisations employed both full-time and part-time staff, while 93% relied on volunteers
93% of responding organisations held less than six months of reserves
64% of organizations’ income comes from grants from Trusts and Foundations (33%) and Local Authorities (31%)
One-in-three (35%) indicated that institutional racism was a barrier to acquiring a physical asset.
Opportunities and the Way Forward
Despite the challenges, the research highlights the importance of community asset ownership as a means of empowerment and self-determination. It points towards a community wealth building approach, where communities harness their assets to create prosperity and a sense of collective identity. As one participant stated, "community wealth building is therefore not only a long-term economic strategy, but also a political and cultural one". The report suggests organisations need to:
Develop a more business-oriented approach to managing community assets, because, as one respondent noted "they are businesses".
Improve their governance and leadership.
Diversify income streams beyond grant aid, to explore "non-traditional opportunities to securing assets".
Build strong relationships with stakeholders, because, "mutual trust is an important foundation for strategic relationships"
Address their capacity issues, including monitoring and evaluation of their impact, given that “being able to demonstrate impact and the achievement of social benefits will be a factor grant giving bodies are keen to understand and recognise”
The report also calls for policy changes, increased funding opportunities, technical assistance, and public education to create a supportive, enabling ecosystem for community asset ownership within Black and racially minoritised communities.
The preparatory and readiness typology is a framework developed from the "A Place to Call Home 2.0" research to assess the capacity of Black and racially minoritised-led organisations to secure and sustain community assets. It evaluates organisations across six domains: governance and leadership, operation and infrastructure, financial resources, physical asset ownership, impact and effectiveness, and connectedness and engagement.
The typology also helps funders and infrastructure organisations to tailor their support programmes. The framework emphasises that an organisation needs to be strong across all six domains to be “ready” to own and/or sustainably manage a physical asset.
The Ubele Initiative’s new national strategic intervention within Community Wealth Building titled "Agbero 2100" is using the six domains of the typology to frame "a systems-based approach" to tackling barriers and challenges, through connecting a cohort of organisations with a range of partnerships, capacity building opportunities, place based advocacy work, training opportunities, consultancy support and peer-to-peer learning.
To those individuals who participated in the 1-2-1 interviews, completed the survey questionnaire, who participated in the focus groups and the ‘Lisbon sessions’, we are truly blessed to have engaged with you all. We hope you can hear your voices coming through. Without those voices, we would not have been able to understand the challenges being faced and therefore be able to offer approaches that could support your journey.
