Assessing Social Infrastructure Outcomes: Implementing an assessment tool and Catalysing Impact

Bridging Research and Practice: Empowering London Boroughs with a Tool to evaluate and enhance Social Infrastructure for stronger Social Cohesion.

About

This project aims to catalyse the impact of previous research by extending a collaboration between Cardiff University, the Greater London Authority (GLA) and two London Boroughs (LBs). The goal is to help them implement an assessment tool previously developed by the academic team within LB practices.

This tool evaluates the effectiveness of social infrastructure (SI) and assesses how well it achieves its intended outcomes and supports social cohesion. The initiative addresses inconsistencies in understanding, assessing, planning, and delivering social infrastructure across the LBs, thereby supporting both the Mayor’s social integration agenda and the UK’s levelling up agenda.

Key info

Start date: 01/10/24
End date: 31/03/2025
Funding amount and funder: £14,953.36, funded by ESRC IAA KEPSs

Aims

Enhance Social Cohesion Assessment: Further develop and standardise SOCIAL-US as a tool to evaluate the impact of SI design, management and use on social cohesion through four key dimensions (belonging, inclusion, participation, recognition).
Improve Stakeholder Decision-Making: Provide policymakers, planners, and stakeholders with a comprehensive assessment framework for social infrastructure (SI) design, management, and usage.
Standardise SI Evaluation Across Local Boroughs (LBs): Deepen collaboration with the Greater London Authority (GLA) to establish a unified approach to assessing SI’s social impact across LBs.
Develop a User-Friendly Digital Tool: Refine SOCIAL-US into a web-based application hosted on the GLA website, making it accessible for wider use across the UK.
Inform Future Urban Policy: Generate evidence-based insights to shape policies on SI design, management, and social usage.