The UK government is rolling out it’s Pride in Place Programme, with selected neighbourhoods set to receive £20m of funding each over ten years, and neighbourhood boards established to enable local communities to make decisions about how this money is spent. The hope is to support communities to strengthen, thrive and take back control.
We recently ran a free webinar (March 2026) for people involved in delivering Pride in Place where our Co-Director Andrew Grinnell hosted a conversation between Joanna, Phil and Eleanor from Morecambe Bay Poverty Truth Commission. The three of them shared the insights they have gained from being part of Poverty Truth Commissions and how this is shaping their approach to being on the West Morecambe Pride in Place Neighbourhood Board.
The webinar had interest from around 60 MPs offices from across the political spectrum and we are hopeful that we will see more Neighbourhood Boards following West Morecambe’s lead and take some of the learning from Poverty Truth Commissions into the work of Pride in Place.
You can catch up with the event by watching this recording, and read some of our key takeaways below.
If you’d like to find out more about Pride in Place, this article provides a good introduction.
Key takeaways – How the Poverty Truth approach is shaping change on the West Morecambe Pride in Place Neighbourhood Board
- The right people in the room make all the difference – Real transformation happens when people who have experienced the struggle against poverty sit alongside civic and business leaders in their community as equal partners. This is not a consultation, it’s shared leadership.
- Relationships are the foundation of meaningful change – Trust takes time. Food, shared stories and informal conversations are all part of building the relationships that make deeper conversations possible.
- Deep listening transforms the work – We explored the five stages of listening and the importance of silence. Understanding that structured listening exercises can help us hear not just words but the emotions and realities behind them.
- Stories + data = better decisions – Personal experience brings texture and insight that numbers alone can’t. Merging data with stories helps uncover root causes and shape more ambitious, relevant solutions.
- Small stories can lead to big shifts – We heard about Lee’s experience of struggling with connectivity, an insight that ultimately helped shape the development of the Morecambe Digital Corridor, offering free public Wi Fi across the community.
- Quick wins are useful, but long-term change needs patience – Pride in Place requires both visible early progress and slower, deeper relationship building. Investment in people, such as community engagement roles, lays the groundwork for sustainable impact.
- Communities are capable of big ideas when given permission – Initial consultations often produce small asks, not because ambition is lacking, but because people aren’t used to being asked. Encouraging imagination and confidence is part of the work.