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
Belonging: Ancient Roots, Modern Relevance
In an August 2022 email, Matt Bell offered a surprising take on collaboration: it’s not a modern invention—it’s a survival instinct. “Cooperation is a fundamental human characteristic,” he wrote. “Fr...
Stories Shaping System Change
By August 2022, the pressure on Plymouth’s Emergency Department (ED) had reached critical levels. But instead of pointing fingers or seeking quick fixes, Belong in Plymouth asked a different question:...
Transparent Budgeting Through Trust
When Alex Hayes from The National Lottery Community Fund emailed in July 2022, the message was clear: let’s keep the budget conversation open. “If you are holding a cash balance, please let us know an...
Starting with Questions: The Origin of Belong in Plymouth
Back in March 2022, the Belong in Plymouth Core Team sparked its first conversations with a simple aim: figure out how to make Plymouth a place where no one feels forgotten. Matt Bell’s early message ...
From the beginning
From the beginning, we’ve said Belong in Plymouth isn’t about creating something new—it’s about connecting what already exists. Matt Bell said it best in our very first Core Team email: “We’re not cr...