What does ‘place-based’ really mean?

If you’ve recently attended a social impact conference, read a funding strategy, or joined a partnership meeting, you’ve probably heard the term ‘place-based’.

It’s becoming a favourite phrase within the sector. Funders are launching place-based programmes. Government is talking about place-based philanthropy. Social investors are exploring place-based capital. Local authorities are building place-based partnerships.

At Ignites 2026, it’s one of the themes we’ll be exploring as the impact economy looks for more collaborative ways to tackle complex challenges. But despite its popularity, the term is often used loosely.

So, what does it actually mean and why is it having a moment?

Place-based is about more than geography

At its simplest, place-based work brings people, organisations and resources together to address the unique needs of a specific place. It’s built upon the recognition that every place has its own context, assets, and insight, and that these are critical to tackling social and environmental challenges effectively.

Yet many funding streams, services and strategies are developed nationally or around individual issues, even though communities experience challenges very differently on the ground.

A place-based approach starts with two simple questions:

1. What does this specific place need?
2. Who needs to come together to make change happen?

Rather than focusing on one organisation or one intervention, it looks at the wider ecosystem that includes groups like residents, community groups, councils, businesses, funders and public services.

Why now?

Part of the answer lies in politics and policy.

Across England, devolution is shifting powers and resources closer to local areas. The idea is that decisions made closer to communities can be better tailored to local needs. Alongside this, initiatives such as Pride in Place reflect a wider policy focus on local identity, decision-making and investment.

There is also a growing interest in place-based philanthropy. The government’s Our place to give strategy argues that philanthropists, local authorities and civil society organisations can achieve more when they work together around a shared place, rather than through disconnected funding decisions. NPC produced a toolkit for MPs to support this plan.

What does it look like in practice?

One example of place-based work comes from Custom House in the London Borough of Newham, where residents faced uncertainty about the future of their homes, high street and wider community. Regeneration in nearby areas had replaced social housing and industrial land with luxury flats and hotels, raising fears that local people could be displaced or priced out.

In response, community organisation, PEACH, brought residents together to challenge decisions being made about their neighbourhood, develop an alternative regeneration plan, and push for genuinely affordable housing, secure homes and local businesses to be protected.

Another example comes from Grimsby, where Our Future worked with residents, organisations and local leaders to build a shared vision for the town. Over 1,100 people from across the town contributed their ideas for Grimsby’s future via online conversations, workshops, events, and public meetings. Together, they identified four priorities for action and who needed to be involved in delivering them.

Both examples started with local priorities and brought together residents, organisations and decision-makers to shape solutions collectively.

The role of collaboration in place-based working

Collaboration is essential because no single organisation can transform a place on its own.

As challenging as it may be to align diaries, the greater challenge is creating the conditions where people with different priorities, responsibilities, and forms of power can actively work toward shared outcomes for their place.

It raises important questions for anyone hoping to work in this way. Who gets to define the shared outcomes for a place, and who is expected to adapt to them? How are tensions managed when local priorities do not align neatly with organisational strategies or funding requirements? And what would it take for collaboration to move beyond coordination and become a genuine sharing of power, risk and responsibility?

These questions sit at the heart of effective place-based working.

Looking beyond the buzzword

Place-based approaches are not a silver bullet. There is always a risk that ‘place’ becomes just another sector term that fails to catalyse meaningful change.

But the growing interest in place reflects something important:

Many of today’s challenges don’t fit neatly within organisational or cause-specific boundaries.

Addressing them requires stronger relationships, better collaboration and a deeper understanding of local context. In our efforts to achieve this, how do we make sure communities remain at the centre of that work?

These are the kinds of questions we will grapple with at Ignites 2026, where leaders from across the impact economy will come together to discuss how place-based approaches, systems thinking, and collaboration can drive lasting change. We’d love you to join the conversation.