Pride in Place, Delivered from Within Why Asset-Based Community Development training matters for local authorities The UK Government’s Pride in Place Programme creates a major opportunity for neighbourhoods that have too often been overlooked. With up to £5.8 billion committed over 10 years to support 284 communities, and up to £20 million available for each area, the programme is designed to put local people at the heart of decisions about the future of their neighbourhoods. But the real question for local authorities is not simply how the funding is spent. It is how communities are supported to shape, lead and sustain the change they want to see. That is where Asset-Based Community Development — or ABCD — comes in.
What Pride in Place is really asking of local authorities Pride in Place is about more than delivering projects. It is about moving power closer to local people and supporting communities to decide what matters most to them — whether that is high street regeneration, green spaces, community safety, local facilities, or the everyday connections that make a place feel like home. For local authorities, this means working in ways that go beyond consultation. Residents should not just be asked what they think at the start of a process; they should be recognised as partners, contributors and leaders throughout it. From consultation to community-led change Traditional engagement can often feel transactional: a council asks questions, gathers responses, and returns later with a plan. ABCD starts somewhere different.
It begins with the strengths, relationships, skills, passions and local knowledge that already exist in every community. Instead of focusing only on problems or deficits, it asks: what is already strong here, who is already making things happen, and what could grow if people were better connected and supported? This shift matters because long-term pride in place cannot be delivered to a community from the outside. It has to be built with, by and from within the community itself.
How Forever Manchester’s ABCD training can help Forever Manchester’s ABCD training gives local authority teams practical tools and confidence to work in a more community-led way. Drawing on years of hands-on community building experience, the training helps teams to: identify and map community assets build trusted relationships with residents and local groups recognise community connectors and informal leaders create the conditions for resident-led ideas to grow move from one-off engagement towards ongoing community participation support local partnerships rooted in trust, identity and shared action
Why this approach supports Pride in Place outcomes When local people feel ownership over change, projects are more likely to reflect what really matters in day-to-day life. They are also more likely to strengthen relationships, build confidence, unlock local energy and create partnerships that continue long after a funding cycle or consultation exercise has ended. ABCD helps local authorities create the conditions for that kind of ownership. It supports a different way of working: less top-down delivery, more shared action; less focus on what is missing, more focus on what is possible.
Practical, flexible and CPD accredited Forever Manchester’s ABCD courses are flexible, CPD accredited and can be tailored to the needs of your local authority, partners and communities. Training can support frontline teams, strategic leads and place-based partnerships to build a shared understanding of what community-led change looks like in practice. Pricing starts from £250 + VAT per person for a one-day workshop. Start the conversation If your local authority wants to move beyond consultation and deliver Pride in Place in a way that feels genuine, lasting and locally owned, Forever Manchester would love to talk. Contact: Helen Capiter at Helen@forevermanchester.com Read more about Pride in Place
