London Funders’ members will know that we have long championed a funding system that puts more power in the hands of communities. For years we’ve argued that local people should be able to shape how funding is used and invested in what matters most to them.
We’ve explored this through our network of place-based giving schemes, our local funder forums and our learning programme on place. Across these spaces, funders have come together to test ideas, share experiences and reflect on what it really takes to work in a more community-led way. We’ve also contributed to the wider, national conversation about place and devolution.
Right now, that conversation is accelerating. We’re seeing huge legislative changes to devolution, more investment in place-based programmes such as the government’s Pride in Place strategy, and growing interest from funders to adopt a more community-led, locally-driven lens to their work – not least the development of a Community Wealth Fund at The National Lottery Community Fund.
This momentum brings a clear question: how do we ensure these changes build on existing practice and learning, rather than reinventing the wheel?
As it happens, a major long-term, hyperlocal and resident-led funding programme is coming to an end, and it offers a wealth of insight. Big Local, a £200+ million investment in 150 communities across England (26 of them in London) was designed to be neighbourhood-level, resident-led and long-term, with funding delivered over 10 – 15 years. The programme is now coming to an end, with the last Big Local areas due to close or transition early in 2026.
This moment matters. It marks the end of the largest investment ever made by a non-statutory funder in resident-led, place-based change — and creates a rare opportunity to pause, reflect and learn.
That’s why today we’re excited to be launching a new learning programme developed with Local Trust, the organisation set-up to design and deliver Big Local. Together, we want to make sure this depth of experience and insight is not lost as the programme ends but actively informs the next generation of place-based funding and community-led practice.
Our starting point is not that Big Local has all the answers for every local area. Instead, we aim to explore and understand what happened, what worked, what didn't, the challenges communities faced, and how they responded. With such a wealth of learning and experience coming from over 15 years of Big Local, there is a huge amount which is relevant for funders and civil society in London today.
Over the summer, we started to scope and plan this work, including speaking with stakeholders across the sector to understand what they’d like to learn from the Big Local story. People told us there’s a lack of space for open, honest and collective reflection across London’s funding ecosystem, and they want to go beyond reports and hear directly from those who designed and delivered Big Local. We’ve since worked with Local Trust to shape a leaning programme which aims to provide this space.
“We want to make sure that different partners across London are able to draw on that learning, on their own terms, and build it into their practice – so that our collective understanding of how to deliver transformative, place-based change continually dev
The core learning programme will be online, open to all, and starting in February 2026.
Every session will feature stories and conversations with people involved directly in the design, coordination and day-to-day of Big Local. The programme will include a visit to a Big Local area in London where participants will be able to see first-hand how ambitions of resident-led, place-based and long-term change have been put into practice. Alongside the main programme, we’ll also run tailored learning cohorts in collaboration with partners like London Plus and Community Southwark. These sessions will provide space for targeted conversations and peer learning among organisations with shared priorities.
We’re pleased to share information about the first three online sessions and links to where you can secure your free tickets. We’ll also release more details of the final sessions in the new year, which will cover topics like the benefits and challenges of long-term funding, the pros and cons of a hyper-local approach and more.