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‘Levelling up’ through employment: The role of the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector in partnership with the health and social care sectors

17 November 2021

The Government is setting out a ‘levelling up’ agenda across many parts of the country. Its intentions have been brought into sharper focus because of the impact of Covid-19, particularly the growing evidence of current and potential negative impact on employment.

Our report: Levelling up through employment [ 1.1 mb], collaboratively explores how the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector is, or can, positively influence the levelling up agenda around employment - and associated issues - through co-production of local initiatives alongside local health and social care delivery. Focusing on four fieldwork areas (Liverpool, Gosport, Knowsley and Walsall), the report offers insight from the VCSE sector about the challenges and enablers to levelling up in their local area; and identifies how the VCSE and health and care sector can work collaboratively and co-productively to set priorities and take joint action on this agenda at a local level.

The entire study consists of three parts:

1. Literature review [ 2.6 mb] - which outlines

  • the policy context

  • an understanding of statutory requirements

  • partnership mechanisms

  • funding levers to develop sustainable local employment opportunities and challenges, as well as solutions and highlighted best practice.

We recommend reading the literature review to give further insights into the societal and economic factors that have informed this research and how the levelling up is intended to impact these factors.

2. Levelling up main report [ 1.1 mb] - seeks to share the primary research and learnings from the case studies conducted at a national level, by concluding the potential impacts for both local practice and national policy and shining a light on the work happening in four ‘levelling up’ areas.

3. Roundtable discussion write up [ 0.51 mb] - with project sponsors, contributing partners and invited think-tanks and researchers.

UAT (Release)