Evaluation of Bright Ideas, Trade Up and the Community Business Fund: Impact on people and place learning paper

This report builds on Renaisi’s interim evaluation report of Power to Change’s Bright Ideas and Trade Up programmes,  and its Community Business Fund, as well as contributing additional evidence to existing research around the impact of community businesses on people and place.

Amongst other things, it finds that:

• Community businesses funded through Bright Ideas, Trade Up and the Community Business Fund employ substantial numbers of employees, provide opportunities for a considerable number of volunteers, and together reach thousands of service users.
• Community businesses have an impact on people through working towards four of Power to Change’s priority outcome areas: reduced social isolation, increased employability, creating better access to services and improved health and wellbeing.