People Zones is an initiative that was created by the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Leicester, Leicestershire, and Rutland (OPCC), in 2018. People Zones are areas which have been identified through crime, public health and census data to benefit from extra direct and financial support from the OPCC.
Although launched in 2018, upon review, it was agreed that the People Zones would be much more likely to achieve a greater and more sustainable impact if it was to take the approach of asset-based community development (ABCD). ABCD aims to build on existing assets and address local needs through community driven efforts. To ensure the direction and outputs would benefit the community, baseline research was conducted in 2022 to uncover some of these assets and underpin the future strategy of the People Zones. The findings can be found here
Mapping for Change (MfC), a social enterprise part-owned by University College London, were commissioned via a public procurement process to conduct research across all three People Zones to uncover existing assets, identify current challenges, and gain insights into the community’s aspirations.
Through the use of mapping, collective data gathering, geographical information, and co-design of solutions MfC specialise in community and stakeholder engagement, collaborating with individuals and communities, along with the organisations and networks that support those communities, where the goal is to create positive sustainable transformations in their local environment.
The project underwent an evaluation in 2024, mapping its progress against its objectives. MfC were again commissioned via a public procurement. The findings can be found here
Click above to view the evaluation document