The Study

In 2014, researchers based at universities across England set out to evaluate the longer term impact for health inequalities of Big Local. 

Big Local is a resident led place based programme funded by the National Lottery Community Fund and managed by Local Trust, where residents of 150 English areas have a range of support and at least £1 million, to improve their neighbourhoods as places to live.  

The Communities in Control study has now run for two phases and has recently moved into a third phase.    Phase 1 and 2 was funded by the NIHR School for Public Health Research. It was a collaboration of members involved in NIHR SPHR including the Liverpool and Lancaster Universities Collaboration for Public Health Research (LiLaC), Exeter and Sheffield universities, FUSE (a collaboration of universities in north east England) and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Phase 3 is funded by NIHR’s Public Health Research programme. The research is a collaboration between Durham, Lancaster, Liverpool and Newcastle Universities and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

 Jennie Popay, Lancaster University is the study lead (PI).

Find out more about earlier phases of the CiC research and the SPHR