Through extensive engagement, several themes emerged. Many people felt that engagement often involved the “usual suspects”, with some voices repeatedly heard while others remained largely invisible. Communities wanted to move beyond consultation and towards genuine collaboration and co-production.  

People told us they wanted: 

• More influence over decisions affecting their communities. 

• Greater diversity in who gets involved. 

• Better relationships with public services. 

• Clearer communication that listens as well as informs. 

• More opportunities to act on what matters locally.  

There were also practical barriers including digital exclusion, lack of trust, lengthy processes, inaccessible engagement methods and approaches that unintentionally excluded people.  

The challenge wasn’t simply recruiting more volunteers. It was creating a different relationship between communities and the system.  

How did Collaborate Out Loud help? 

We were commissioned to explore, design and develop a community-led model for Community Champions and Community Connectors across Bury. However, rather than beginning with role descriptions, we started with a simple question: 

What do communities want?  

Listening First 

Our approach combined: 

• Community conversations. 

• One-to-one interviews. 

• Open workshops. 

• Social media engagement. 

• Online collaboration tools. 

• Discussions with councillors. 

• Engagement with existing Community Champions. 

• Conversations with public service partners.  

We intentionally sought out voices that are often absent from traditional engagement processes, including people affected by homelessness, mental health challenges, disability, domestic abuse, addiction, poverty and social isolation.  

More than 200 people contributed through online and face-to-face engagement activity, alongside extensive work through trusted community networks and organisations across the borough.  

Reframing Community Champions 

One of the most significant discoveries was that many people were uncomfortable with the language of “community champions”. 

Participants told us that the term could feel exclusive, hierarchical and suggest that one person could represent an entire community. Instead, communities consistently spoke about wanting their voices to be heard.  

From this emerged the concept of Community Voices. Rather than creating a traditional volunteer role, Community Voices became a more inclusive and flexible way for residents to: 

• Listen to others. 

• Share stories. 

• Bring people together. 

• Highlight local issues. 

• Share useful information. 

• Create positive change alongside others.  

Defining Community Connectors 

Alongside Community Voices, we developed the role of the Community Connector. 

Community Connectors were identified as people who naturally bring others together, create opportunities, connect communities with resources and help people navigate systems without becoming gatekeepers.  

The qualities communities valued most included: 

• Listening. 

• Being curious. 

• Opening doors for others. 

• Building relationships. 

• Creating platforms for diverse voices. 

• Supporting collaboration. 

• Advocating for communities while sharing power.  

Building Practical Resources 

To support both Community Voices and Community Connectors, we created: 

• Getting Started Guides. 

• Development Playbooks. 

• Ongoing peer support approaches. 

• Learning circles. 

• Social and collaborative spaces. 

• Recommendations for implementation across Bury.  

Importantly, these resources were designed to be accessible, flexible and community-led rather than formalised or bureaucratic.  

The work created a clear evidence base for a more community-led approach to neighbourhood working in Bury.  

It demonstrated that: 

• Diverse voices could be engaged when people were approached through trusted relationships. 

• New participants wanted to stay involved beyond the project. 

• Communities were ready for a different relationship with public services. 

• There was strong appetite for collaboration, co-production and shared decision-making.  

The project also provided practical frameworks that could be used to strengthen relationships between: 

• Communities. 

• Councillors. 

• Neighbourhood teams. 

• Voluntary organisations. 

• Public services.  

Perhaps most importantly, it shifted the conversation from “how do we recruit champions?” to “how do we hear the voices of the many, not the few?”  

One of the strongest messages we heard was that communities don’t need saving. They need space, trust, relationships and opportunities to influence change. 

This work reinforced our belief that effective community development isn’t about creating programmes for people. It’s about creating conditions where people can contribute, connect and lead in ways that feel meaningful to them.  

We learned that language matters. Small changes in terminology can make participation feel either welcoming or exclusionary. We learned that trust takes time, that hearing diverse voices requires going where people already are, and that genuine co-production cannot be achieved through one-off consultations.  

Most importantly, we learned that communities already contain the relationships, skills, strengths and leadership needed to create change. 

The role of public services is not always to lead. Sometimes it is to listen, connect, support and step back.  

At Collaborate Out Loud, that’s the kind of collaboration we believe creates lasting change.