Department for Culture Media and Sport

civil renewal

Civil renewal concerns how government and people can work together to make life better.

It involves more people being able to influence decisions about their communities and taking responsibility for tackling local problems rather than expecting others to.

There are three essential ingredients to civil renewal:

  1. Active citizens: people with the motivation, skills and confidence to speak up for their communities and say what improvements are needed.

  2. Strengthened communites: community groups with the capability and resources to bring people together to work out shared solutions.

  3. Partnership with public bodies: public bodies willing and able to work as partners with local people.


Our sectors have important contributions to make on each of these.

In 2005 we commissioned the institute for public policy research (ippr) to undertake research into sport and civil renewal, examing the role that sport and physical activity can play in developing social capital, bridging diverse cultural communities and encouraging active citizenship - especially in poor, disadvantaged communities.

In March 2006 Minister for Culture, David Lammy, launched the ippr report on the contribution of heritage and culture to civil renewal: "From access to participation: Culture, community and civil renewal"

Together we can - Logo

"Together we can" aims to empower citizens to work with public bodies to set and achieve common goals for the benefit of their own communities. It helps people make a difference and engage in a constructive manner to shape public policies and services.

Our role includes:

  • Offering young people the opportunity to get involved and shape public library services through Framework for the Future - encouraging them to participate in library design and planning, staff recruitment and training.
  • Working with community groups to develop a shared approach to the interpretation of museum collections.
  • Licensing and funding community radio stations so that they create direct links with their listeners, offer training opportunities ensuring that members of the community take part in the running of the station.
  • Encouraging local authorities and their partners to ensure communities play an active role in the planning and implementation of local cultural and community strategies through our guidance Leading the Good Life.
  • Working with the Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA) through the Beacon Council theme "Culture and Sport for Hard to Reach Groups" which has identified examples of excellence and innovation in local government.  The scheme exists to share good practice so that best value authorities can learn from each other and deliver high quality services to all.  The eight beacon councils have shown how they meet the needs of priority groups and have enabled them to help shape service delivery.

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