People's experiences and perceptions of their local communities will be at the heart of a new project that aims to transform how authorities make decisions that impact towns and cities across the UK.
In the UK, three quarters of people feel they have little or no control over the important decisions that affect their neighbourhood and local community, while seven in ten believe local residents and groups have ideas and skills that could improve their community.
The Stories of Us project aims to address the feeling of powerlessness many people in the UK experience in relation to their local communities and decision-making processes.
Stories of Us is centred around two coastal communities - Plymouth and Hastings - which sit at the geographic and economic periphery of the UK and experience significant levels of deprivation. They are both home to vibrant grassroots organisations that are developing innovative approaches to community-led regeneration and empowerment.
Through a series of events, the project aims to combine both those elements - publicly held datasets which reflect aspects like economic status, and the personal stories of people that are never captured or reflected within spreadsheets.
In doing so, it aims to translate standard data into stories that are influenced by - and accurately reflect - local communities, and which are presented in such a way that they can be used effectively by decision makers such as local councils and national government.
The Stories of Us project is being led by experts in place, data science and public engagement from the University of Plymouth, supported by funding through the Locally Unlocking Culture through Inclusive Access (LUCIA) programme at the Arts and Humanities Research Council.
The project will work with a network of community and social data partners including Nudge Community Builders, Hastings Commons, Plymouth Octopus Project (POP), Social Life, The Data Place, and Prospect Brixham and cultural organisations The Box and Hastings Contemporary. The project also involves academics from the University of Cambridge and Falmouth University.
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