The people who made this possible
Place Matters
Place Matters exists so that communities can change the things that matter most to them. Our mission is to grow the field of place-based practice, sharing what we and others learn, connecting communities, organisations and systems, and investing in the people and practices that make change happen.
Seven Backbone Organisations
This framework grew out of a Community of Practice: seven backbone organisations working across the UK, each at a different stage of the work, who spent three years learning and reflecting together. Those organisations are Better Start Blackpool, Bradford Birth to 19, Reach Foundation, Right to Succeed, Save the Children, Thrive at Five, and Nottingham Trent University. Without their candour - their willingness to share what didn't work alongside what did, and their commitment to reflecting together over all that time, this framework wouldn't exist.
Meet our team and partners
Dartington Service Design Lab
The framework development was supported by a rapid realist review, undertaken by Dartington Service Design Lab. This has provided an evidence-base for the core components of the framework, and going forwards offers a unique opportunity to further explore the contextual nuance and variation of how change may occur in places. We're grateful for their rigour and innovation in approach.
The Henry Smith Foundation
The framework was funded by The Henry Smith Foundation, whose support made this kind of honest, unhurried inquiry possible. Henry Smith's commitment goes beyond funding the work itself. They have been an active partner in building the field of place-based early years practice, bringing curiosity, patience and a genuine belief that the sector needs time and space to learn properly before it can improve at scale.
Case studies
Before developing the framework, Place Matters produced a case study of each of the seven organisations to understand who they are and how they approach this work. Each case study sets out the organisation’s reach, ambitions, theory of change, governance, delivery model and plans to scale. They give useful background on the individual organisations, and sit alongside the framework, which draws across all seven to show what this way of working looks like in practice.
