This book shares the experience of a four-year programme that was set up to explore how neighbourhood activity could best be supported. It follows the progress of 20 very different neighbourhood organisations across three countries to explore the opportunities and challenges of neighbourhood renewal from a community perspective.

As well as testing out ‘light touch’ ways of offering support to community organisations, the report explores how different policies are working out on the ground; what it is realistic to expect of local residents and what needs to happen at agency level in order to address the ‘implementation gap’. It will be valuable reading for policy makers and practitioners in the field of community engagement and neighbourhood renewal, as well as students and others who want an overview of how groups and organisations work at neighbourhood level in England, Scotland and Wales.