With a new government in the UK pledged to tackle inequalities through a series of national missions, and a rapidly evolving approach to regional devolution across England, social capital is once again increasingly seen as a key driver of economic and social outcomes – from health and wellbeing, and crime and antisocial behaviour, to social mobility and economic growth. The pressing question for policymakers is how we can use the existing social capital evidence to deliver policy that fosters and sustains social capital at the national, local and city-regional government levels.

This consultation will explore the critical role social capital plays – particularly at the neighbourhood level – in improving outcomes in those communities often identified as under-served or ‘left behind’.

With the interim report of the Independent Commission on Neighbourhoods (ICON) making the case to Westminster and Whitehall of the need for a new neighbourhoods policy and funding package to tackling deep-seated and structural spatial inequalities, and the advent of the Community Wealth Fund to provide long-term investment to neighbourhoods with high levels of community need, this consultation is a unique and important opportunity to get into the detail of the subject matter with expert academics, decision makers, and local government and community leaders.