Building Civic Capability: A Life Course Framework for Place

Building Civic Capability: A Life Course Framework for Place argues that civic capability should be understood as strategic civic infrastructure rather than isolated participation initiatives. Drawing on theories of human development, democratic innovation, and public value, the paper introduces a practical life-course framework that helps places intentionally cultivate and accumulate civic capability over time. It identifies six interconnected civic functions, the stewardship required to support them, and a practical toolkit to help local authorities, combined authorities, integrated care systems and civic organisations strengthen participation, prevention, democratic renewal and long-term place-based change.

“If civic capability is to endure, it must be treated as infrastructure, not initiative.“

Mark Swift

Apply the Civic Capability Framework to assess your place’s current civic capability, identify development opportunities and create the conditions in which participation, leadership and collective action can flourish across the life course.

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Meet the author

Mark Swift

Mark Swift is Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Wellbeing Enterprises CIC, Visiting Fellow at the Heseltine Institute for Public Policy, Practice and Place at the University of Liverpool, and a Local Policy Innovation Partnership (LPIP) Place Fellow at City-REDI, University of Birmingham. His work focuses on civic capability, democratic innovation, prevention, public value and place-based systems change, exploring how communities and institutions can work together to create healthier, more resilient and more democratic places.

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Publications

Addressing Local Economic Disparities: Learning From Policy Failure in the UK

This report examines why, after more than four decades of national policy, the UK remains one of the most interregionally unequal countries in the industrialised world. Drawing on the academic discipline of policy failure, it applies a common framework to eight major UK instruments – from the Regional Development Agencies

Communities in Their Places Evidence Review

The LPIP Hub “Communities in their Places” evidence review shows that while communities are central to addressing local economic, social and environmental challenges, their ability to do so varies widely depending on policy frameworks, resources and local capacity. It highlights that “community” is a complex, overlapping concept, but strong social

Towards A Place-Based Qualitative Data Observatory

This research briefing responds to Local Policy Innovation Partnership (LPIP) Hub work on data devolution, transparency, and place productivity. Building on this existing research, it argues that current UK data infrastructures do not yet accommodate the heterogeneous forms of qualitative data on which local, regional and national policymakers increasingly rely.