The Community Sustainability Support Network, England
Empowering Inclusive & Resilient Community Sustainability Across England
CSSN is an network for connecting and collaborating around community-led sustainability action.
From Repair Cafés and Community Gardens to School Uniform Exchanges, Community Fridges, Community Energy Projects, Local Rewilding Projects, Climate Hubs and more — everyone is welcome!
The Network
- Connects community sustainability groups, charities, social enterprises, projects, services and spaces
- Enables peer-to-peer sharing of practical templates, case studies, videos, data, and other useful resources developed by Members on the ground in the Members Login area
- Facilitates meaningful support between founders, CEOs, and project leads, including check-ins, mentoring, site visits and collaboration on funding bids, research, delivery and more
- Aims to provide a 'one stop shop space' for Members, Staretgic/Expert Allies will also signpost external resources, case studies, training, funding links, and research opportunities in the Members Login area
- Raising voices for systemic change - collaborating with Young Foundation and others to safely and effectively raise the voices, stories, impacts, opportunities and challenges of Members to Policy Makers in government and the funding sector
- Normalising community power and voices - facilitating more opportunities for Members stories and persepectives to be heard in the press, media and through speaking at events.
Through all of this, the CSSN helps Members strengthen their their human, opperational and financial resilience, and in turn their reach and impact, with joined up problem solving and collaborative approaches.
Our Mission
CSSN exists to make it easier for local people and their community organisations to create real, lasting and inclusive change around sustainabilty and resilience where they live.
Foster Collaboration
We bring the leaders of community sustainability projects, events, services and spaces together to connect, share knowledge, advice and collaboration opportunities - particularly at our Monthly Online Catch Ups.
Enable Cross-Sharing
We facilitate the practical exchange of templates, clauses, tool kits, case studies, impact data created at the grassroots in the Members Login area.
Normalising Community Collaboration & Raising Voices
In this time of poly-crisis, culture wars and divisiveness are hurting our communities and delaying meaningful action on the climate and biodiversity crisis. Practical and diverse stories of communities collaborating on positive local solutions need to be heard. We are working to help ensure more press, media and event speaking opportunities reach our Members.
From repair cafes to pollinator corridor projects, community energy to food-growing co-ops, community fridge projects to clothes exchanges, river clean up team to CECs, friends of parks groups to transition towns and more - CSSN welcomes all types of 'not for profit' community sustainability groups, charities and social enterprises and their wide ranging projects, events, services, and spaces, regardless of size, funding or lack thereof, or location (within England).
What CSSN Offers
Monthly Member Catch Up Sessions
A regular online session for community sustainability leaders to connect, share challenges, exchange solutions and opportunities.
Initially 1st Thursday of the month (6.30-8.30pm)
Introductions for One-to-One Advice
Members can be connected with relevant Members, Connector Allies and Expert/Strategic Allies Partners, to enable targeted "one to one" sharing of lived experience, expert guidance, connections or opportunities around specific plans / challenges.
Online Resource Hub
A secure digital space where Members can share their templates, lesson plans, slide decks, case studies, videos, research, impact data and other resources and best practice they have built up, to help their peers with inclusive, practical, "on the ground" action.
Annual In-Person Event
A national gathering for Members to connect in person, showcase inspiring community sustainabilty success stories, explore and feed back key impacts, opportunities and challenges to government and funding sector policy makers. With hybrid options available.
We are currently seeking funding for this empowering and uplifting annual event and vital research/reporting collaboration with Young Foundation and others.
Funding & Collaboration Signposting
The CSSN and its Members can signpost funding, training, delivery, research and campaign opportunities, including opportunities where Members may wish to work together collaboratively (for example on funding bids, campaigns etc)
Collaboration Partner Matching
CSSN Members can connect with other Members to collaborate on funding bids, research projects, delivery, campaigns and more. Find collaboration partners with complementary expertise, projects and/or geographic coverage.
Why It Matters
Local community groups, charities and social enterprises are the backbone of community wellbeing, sustainability and resilience in neighbourhoods across England.
They help normalise community action, as well as action around nature and climate.
They serve to highlight the reality that these projects have a huge local impact on lonliness and mental health, physical health and cost of living, employment and skills building, intergenerational and intercultureal collaboration, inclusion, resilience and adaptability. They are also key in adressing rampant misinformation and stereotyping, particularly online, in the press and in the media.
However, many operate in isolation from their peers across England or are simply unable to cross-pollinate with those working with different models or themes or in different locations.
Many face funding, reach, volunteer and other challenges alone. They duplicate the mistakes of others and do not have the opportunity to benefit from the successes, resources and learnings of their peers. Burnout is the norm - the CSSN is here to change that.
CSSN creates a support network that:
- Has connected over 40 CSSN Members and Allies, including over 25 Member grassroots sustainability projects, within its first month.
- Evolves through the feedback of its Members to more effectively boost the resilience and effectiveness of Members' local initiatives
- Breaks down traditional silos between groups relating to type of project, susainabilty theme, funders and locations - enabling 'joined up' problem solving, voices and collaborations.
- Amplifies the importance of intersectionality - the power of community-led solutions for climate, biodiversity, cost-of-living, employment, wellbeing and resilience
Inspired by Success
CSSN was inspired by successful regional government-funded sustainability/circularity networks in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland, and aims to learn from and build on such infrastructure, as well as other successful peer to peer networks, to signoficantly boost community sustainabilty efforts and voices across England.
Explore CSSN member organisations across England. Browse the directory
How Your Support Helps
To launch CSSN's first year, we are seeking funding to cover:
Annual Network Event: Connection, Celebration & Policy Feedback Event
Help us bring Members together in person, to: 1) meet in person and celebrate their projects' impacts; and 2) discuss and feed common challenges and other policy insights into vital Reports to government and funding sector policy makers (with help from the Young Foundation and other key partners).
Funding curently sought.
Technology & Support
Support around building and maintaining the online platform
Network / Member Capacity Building
Additional support for coordination of the Network and/or capacity building for Members' operational, financial or human resilience always welcome.
By investing in the CSSN and its Members, partners and funders will help create a resilient, inclusive and impactful grassroots sustainability movement that uplifts communities across England and builds a more sustainable, fair and connected future.