The Enabling Social Action (ESA) programme is a partnership between the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and the Universities of Sheffield and Hull.

The programme involves collaborating with local authorities to support them to design and deliver services with local people, service users, and civil society organisations.

More information about the programme can be seen at the Enabling Social Action website:-

As part of the ESA programme, a Regional Champion Network has been established with champions from local authorities in the North, East, South and West.

A regional event for the East region was held in March 2020, jointly hosted by Leicestershire County Council and Voluntary Action Leicestershire.

The event included the following:

• an introduction to the Enabling Social Action programme from Dr Jon Burchell (University of Sheffield)
• presentations from Hathern Community Library and Melton Vineyard, both of which are particularly inspiring Leicestershire based examples of social action, which are making a positive difference in local communities
• workshops around the themes of Asset Based Social Action and the differences between Consultation and Co-production.

The event was attended by over 50 delegates, who were able to explore the challenges and opportunities of social action, share their own journeys and learning with others, as well as share ideas for improving collaboration around building social action in the future.

The presentation slides and write-up notes from the Asset Based Social Action workshops are below.