As researchers working within community spaces, there are a wide range of tools that we can use to help support our ideas, identify problems or focus our efforts.
In this article, we’ve collected six free-to-use resources that we think you should know about, whether you’re a researcher, community practitioner, or just interested in knowing a little bit more about what’s out there.
1. Learning from Big Local
Put together by the wonderful team at Local Trust, the Learning from Big Local website brings together all the research, learning and stories from 15 years of the Big Local Programme.
There are so many different resources to explore, including a variety of Reports, Q&A Articles and Resident Stories.
You can take a look at all of the areas involved in the programme, how each area used their Big Local funding, and the impact that it had on their community.
You can also dive deeper into the themes that emerged from the research that developed during the programme, with themes such as Community Change, Local Economy and Investing in Young People.
2. OCSI’s Community Needs Index
The Community Needs Index (CNI) was created by OCSI to look at the experiences of the people within an area in combination with the area’s amenities and assets in order to measure the social and cultural factors that impact people’s outcomes.
Created to help users identifies the absence of ‘good stuff’ over the presence of ‘bad stuff’, the CNI is particularly useful for policy makers looking to target investment in social infrastructure.
Here at The Centre for Collaboration in Community Connectedness, we’ve partnered with OCSI to bring you the updated 2025 CNI data, alongside an enhanced CNI later this year.
You can read more about the original CNI project here.
3. New Deal for Communities Evaluation, CRESR
Launched in 1998, New Deal for Communities was a key part in the Government strategy to tackle multiple deprivation in 39 NDC partnership areas across England. Each area was allocated a share of £2 billion, with the intention of achieving transformational change over a 10 year period.
Sheffield Hallam University’s Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research (CRESR) led the evaluation of the NDC programme, sharing key findings and insights into what works in neighbourhood renewal.
This archive is a great catalogue of all the research and materials produced by the NDC evaluation project and is readily available for you to access via our website here.
4. The National Data Library
Previously the data.gov.uk website, The National Data Library is a transformed catalogue of open government data managed by the Government Digital Service in the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.
The service aims to provide a high-quality, curated selection of public sector data for use by a range of audiences through their data ‘Collections’, ranging from environment to people, early years to business and economy.
Theres also a Data Manual available to help those who are working with data both within the government and the public sector, with advice on data security, helpful data communities and information on the responsible use of Artificial Intelligence.
5. UK Data Service
The UK Data Service is the UK’s largest collection of economic, population and social research data.
The digital archive is a curated collection of trusted data from providers such as government, the Office for National Statistics, the ESRC and a range of other funders and data owners.
Not only can you access a huge selection of data, but the UK Data Service also provides a selection of free learning and training opportunities, such as sessions to learn more about using UK census data, or beginner coding clubs.
6. Indices of Multiple Deprivation
The Indices of Multiple Deprivation can be a very important resource for understanding relative deprivation in small neighbourhoods. England, Scotland and Wales all have their own IMD data looking across different domains.
The datasets can be used to improve understanding about the outcomes and circumstances of people living in different neighbourhoods, and can allow for the targeting of policies and funding to in order to tackle the causes of multiple deprivation.
Of particular use are the resources that come attached with each dataset, which can be hugely helpful in understanding how to interpret and use the data, making sure that any research driven through the data is as accurate as possible.
Cite this article:
Varley, C (2026). Six Resources You Should Know About When Working in Community Research. The Centre for Collaboration in Community Connectedness. https://doi.org/10.7190/c4.2026.6438420903
