Community Empowerment: local people shaping places
Learn how the Net Zero Living Programme has been helping local authorities engage their local residents, communities and business, and co-design innovations that reflect their needs.
User-led solutions driving growth
Local authorities up and down the UK are reimagining the systems, services, and infrastructure that they rely on to help their places thrive. They are realising this isn’t just a technical journey, it’s a social one. When communities are genuinely involved in shaping local solutions, progress is made quicker, the transition feels fairer, and the results are more effective.
Innovate UK’s Net Zero Living Programme has been helping councils convene local people and move from consultation to active participation. Forums like citizens’ juries and community conversations have helped de-risk delivery by surfacing issues and opportunities early. Practical demonstrations and co-design have made it easier for residents and business to navigate complex regulations or choices. And shared ownership models are helping local people unlock the value of placed-based innovation.
Here we bring together frameworks, insights, and examples of community empowerment in action so more residents, businesses and councils can work together to improve their place.
Insights from the programme
Our learnings have been collated into a compelling report that shows how new ideas and technologies are more successfully adopted when community engagement starts early and is designed around lived experience.
These insights are then brought to life in our Community Empowerment webinar. Hear from two local authorities who share how local residents and business have helped shape net zero programmes.
In our blog Putting communities at the heart of a just net zero transition we explore new models that can move citizen engagement from traditional consultation to a deeper, two-way relationship.
If local authorities want to assess the quality of their current community engagement strategies they can follow the steps in our practical self-assessment questionnaire.
Discover regional impact stories
Watch the webinar recordings
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06/01/2026
Putting communities at the heart of a just net zero transition
Innovate UK’s Net Zero Living Programme, in partnership with Regen, outlines how local authorities can engage and empower communities to ensure a just net zero transition.
Read more
Related programme
Net Zero Living
A new wave of place-based innovation is transforming UK towns, cities and communities, today. Innovate UK’s £60 million programme is helping local authorities and businesses work together to deliver new solutions that improve local services and open markets for economic growth.