BLOG: A New Year’s message from Groundwork’s Chief Executive: ‘2026 – the year of coming together’
Graham Duxbury, Groundwork’s UK Chief Executive, envisions a new year of global collaboration.
I wonder which international gathering will receive more attention in 2026 – the men’s football World Cup taking place in the US, Canada and Mexico or the latest instalment of global climate talks – COP31 – led by Australia but hosted in Turkey? It’s a rhetorical question, as I think we know the answer. I think we also know which one will attract more world leaders.
Nonetheless, my hope for the New Year is that we put as much effort into global collaboration as we do global competition, because the stakes are getting higher, and the impacts more real. They’re also being felt closer to home. Whether it’s climate change, migration or misinformation, our local communities have seldom been more affected by global trends.
One of the answers to this is to increase resilience – helping people to form stronger bonds, to identify common solutions and to take more control of the assets and services in their local area so that they are better equipped to prepare for and respond to the uncertainties that lie ahead. This won’t happen overnight, and in many places will need support, but there are significant opportunities in the year ahead to make substantial progress.
The Government’s Pride in Place programme, announced in the autumn, will see some serious investment flowing into the country’s most disadvantaged neighbourhoods, with a requirement for local people to be fully engaged in developing and delivering regeneration plans. To supplement this, we expect to see the National Lottery Community Fund rolling out a £175 million Community Wealth Fund to strengthen the social fabric of ‘doubly disadvantaged’ neighbourhoods. We also hope to see progress made on tackling the causes of that disadvantage with a Warm Homes Plan helping to address the scourge of fuel poverty and a Jobs Guarantee providing work for young people at risk of long-term unemployment.
To make the most of these opportunities, however, we need to think about the infrastructure that supports our local communities. Communities are better able to access opportunities and fashion solutions when they have the support of community workers – professionals able to broker conflict, reach consensus and ensure inclusive engagement. Given the fractured state of many local communities this is becoming increasingly urgent and challenging work, and I hope, as we roll out regeneration plans, due prominence will be given to expanding and supporting this critical, but frequently overlooked, workforce.
Alongside this we need to think more broadly about ‘social infrastructure’ and, in particular, the role of the voluntary sector in supporting community empowerment. This is a role that is only possible if charities and other civil society organisations are seen as relevant and trusted by all sections of the community, something that is becoming harder as people are increasingly asked to take sides in polarised political debates and societal attitudes shift. This is an issue I hope the new Civil Society Council will address as it embarks on its work to make the Civil Society Covenant between charities and government properly meaningful.
Many of these challenges and opportunities are at the heart of the work Groundwork will be seeking to drive forward in 2026. We’ll be looking to expand our network of Green Community Hubs, places that foster connections between people of different backgrounds, and build a major programme of community-powered nature recovery, bringing people together around a shared goal of a better environment. With the support of partners like the Cadent Foundation our Green Doctors will continue helping people get the most benefit from the energy they can afford, and we will support the Government’s efforts to help more young people into work by developing pathways into good, green jobs. Giving children and young people the best start in life will be a major priority – continuing our work with Tesco to ensure children are fit and fed and helping more families access the benefits of the outdoors by expanding the reach of our Wellies in the Woods initiative with the help of the Bupa Foundation, Miller Homes and a range of other supporters. We will also continue to provide skills and support through our Communities Prepared programme, ensuring more places are prepared for – and able to recover from – the impacts of extreme weather.
To do all of this effectively we will need to invest in our people, forge new partnerships and find ways of operating that are relevant to the concerns and challenges raised by people in the places we work. This will require focus, adaptability and teamwork – qualities that I hope will be in abundance amongst those engaged in climate negotiations in Antalya later in the year, and that I know will be in evidence when the teams take to the field in the 26 World Cup.
So I hope the year ahead will see us achieve more success in bringing people together to tackle the challenges affecting us locally and globally. Collaboration and cooperation are key, though competition does still have its place – come on England!
Notes to editors
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About Groundwork
Groundwork is a federation of charities with a collective mission to take practical action to create a fair and green future in which people, places, and nature thrive. We support communities and businesses to build capacity and resilience in order to tackle hardship, achieve a just transition to net-zero and help nature recover in a way that reduces inequality and leads to healthier, happier lives for all: www.groundwork.org.uk