I always think that the research that the Joseph Rowntree Foundation support gives up something interesting.  This report is about how some of the residents of the Wythenshawe in Manchester have affected their local community for the better.

The approach was aimed at the sorts of people and problems that are just as prevalent in bits of our borough.  The report suggests the approach was deceptively simple:

1. Identify and make contact with the real local estate leaders.
2. Discover and identify the source of real community problems – the hard to reach.
3. Combine the ‘street cred’ and the persuasive influence of the local estate leaders with the energy of the hard to reach to create UEW [United Estates of Wythenshawe].

The report describes how this approach worked in Manchester and trying to recreate the project in other areas facing similar problems.