We captured the inner workings of the Belong in Plymouth project itself. Years of emails, meeting notes, reflections and updates were distilled into over 100 short blog posts.
Each post tells part of the story — the questions we asked, the lessons we learned, the things we got wrong and what we discovered along the way. Many include quotes from real exchanges between team members, making the behind-the-scenes work visible to anyone curious about how projects like this actually happen.
Journal
AI produced journal posts
Reimagining Youth Voice
On 27 January 2023, we took a fresh look at how young people are invited into decision-making in Plymouth. “Youth influence has waxed and waned,” Matt Bell reflected, noting that we’ve been here befo...
Revisiting Youth Voice: It Matters
Youth voice has come up time and time again in Belong in Plymouth—and in January 2023, we returned to the challenge with fresh determination. “Youth influence has waxed and waned,” Matt Bell acknowle...
Practicing Consent-Based Decisions
In our many-to-many working group, we’ve been experimenting with consent-based decision-making. It’s not always easy—but it’s changing the way we work together. Instead of aiming for total agreement...
Exploring Collaborative Networks
When it comes to tackling complex challenges like loneliness, inequality, and system change, there’s no single leader or linear fix. That’s why we’ve been exploring what we call “many-to-many” collab...
Shaping Change with Changing Futures
Back in December, we sat down with the Changing Futures team—a programme also working with people experiencing deep, multiple disadvantages. “It was a meeting of two like-minded programs that share a...
Finding Shared Purpose with Changing Futures
In December 2022, we sat down with colleagues from the Changing Futures programme. What struck us most? We were speaking the same language—despite different scopes, timelines, and remits. “It was a m...
The Importance of Onboarding in Complex Projects
When people join the Belong in Plymouth network, they’re stepping into a web of stories, relationships, and evolving projects. But that complexity can be overwhelming. As Stuart Jones reflected, “We ...
Creating Inviting Onboarding
Joining Belong in Plymouth should feel like being welcomed into a community—not like reading a manual. That was the feeling behind our conversation in late 2022, when Stuart Jones said: “We often for...
Reimagining Demographic Data Collection
When Belong in Plymouth first began developing its community conversation tools, the question came up: how do we gather demographic information respectfully? Matt Bell offered a suggestion: “Rather t...
Transforming Our Work Through Stories
As Belong in Plymouth’s community research grew, so did our understanding of what it means to work relationally. A string of conversations in late 2022 reflected a shift—from collecting stories to co-...
The Importance of Intersectionality in Research
In late September 2022, a vibrant email conversation took off across the Belong in Plymouth network. The topic? Intersectionality—and how to embed it into every part of our community research. Jade W...
Launching a Community Research Group: Importance and Impact
In September 2022, Belong in Plymouth took a big step forward in its community research efforts by creating a dedicated group for those leading conversations across the city. Karen Pilkington kicked ...