Why we built the Place Navigator
We just don’t know where to start
It was a comment we heard more than once in our early Action Learning Group sessions. University staff, passionate about their civic activity, eager to connect with their communities, were coming up against a familiar problem: complexity. The places they were working in were full of potential partners, overlapping priorities, and different ways of doing things. But understanding how to it all fit together? That was the challenge.
Who are the key players in local government?
How do NHS structures work at a local level?
Where does the voluntary sector sit in the broader civic landscape?
And how do you even begin to navigate all this, let alone build meaningful partnerships across it?
That’s where the idea for the Place Navigator came from, not from an academic journal or a strategy paper, but from conversations with people, working on the ground to make a difference in their places.
From challenge to concept
As part of the National Civic Impact Accelerator, the NCCPE has led an Action Learning Programme with 14 civic partnerships from across England. These partnerships brought together people from universities, councils, charities, colleges, NHS trusts and other community organisations, all working on the messy, exciting, difficult business of place-based engagement.
After the first meeting of the action learning groups, a shared need began to emerge. People wanted a way to see the bigger picture of a place, a simple, accessible resource that could help them understand the infrastructures around them, and spot opportunities to connect.
We started sketching out what that might look like. With input from the Institute for Community Studies, we began building the first version of what would become the Place Navigator and shared a prototype in early 2024 for feedback.
Co-created and continually shaped
From the beginning, we knew this couldn’t be a top-down tool. It had to be shaped by the people who would use it. Through multiple iterations, testing, and feedback from our learning groups, we refined the content and structure, adjusting language, and making sure the tool stayed rooted in practice, not theory.
One of the most valuable insights? That no two places are the same. While there are common structures and agendas, the way things work on the ground is shaped by local histories, relationships, and politics. The Place Navigator isn’t here to provide all the answers, but to offer a starting point, a way to orient yourself before diving in.
What you’ll find in the Place Navigator
The final tool is built around seven key infrastructures you might engage with in civic work: Local Government, Health & Social Care, Education & Skills, Economic Development, Arts & Culture, Community & Voluntary Sector, and Public Services.
Each section includes:
- A breakdown of key agendas
- Top tips for building partnerships
- Where relationships might already exist in your university
- Examples of partnership working
- A look at the people and roles you might work with
- A birds eye view showing the national, regional and local organisation that exist
- Links to other resources and case studies
It’s designed to be a tool you can dip into when starting a project, scoping a partnership, or just trying to understand the lay of the land.
An invitation
This is still the beginning of our journey. The Place Navigator has been shaped by people who care deeply about their places and their civic work, and we want that to continue.
So, we’re inviting you to explore the tool, use it, and tell us what you think. What’s missing? What’s useful? What should come next?
We're also running a series of Lunch and Learn sessions to walk you through the tool and hear your thoughts.
We’re proud of what this tool represents, not just a new resource, but a different way of working. One that listens, tests, adapts, and builds with people, not just for them. The Place Navigator has been developed and refined through close collaboration with our Action Learning Groups, whose insights and experiences have shaped the content at every stage. This iterative process ensures the tool meets the real-world needs of university staff, offering not just theory, but practical guidance for building meaningful, place-based partnerships.
We hope the Place Navigator helps you make sense of your place, and find the people, connections, and opportunities to bring your ambitions for civic activity to life.
