Data check - Social benefit of community development activities

Around £3.5 million of social benefit was created from just £234,000 of public sector investment in community development work in four localities, a study has found. Research by charity the Community Development Foundation (CDF) and New Economics Foundation Consulting analysed the social return of community development work in Brighton; St Giles in Lincoln; Dewsbury Moor in West Yorkshire; and Cleobury Mortimer in Shropshire. It calculated the wider return of this work using an approach that puts a monetary value on the full range of social benefits, such as the creation of supportive relationships and increased feelings of trust, that the work brought about. The study is available via regen.net/doc