Home › Research

Research

Church Urban Fund has undertaken research, in collaboration with other agencies, which examines the effectiveness of faith-based social action and the challenges and opportunities that this presents.

Much of this research is available from us for free, but we ask you to consider making a donation to us to support the projects that have contributed to the research.



Tackling Poverty 2012: a report on Church Urban Fund's annual conference

in

Church Urban Fund’s annual Tackling Poverty conference - held at the St George’s Centre in Leeds - brought together nearly 300 church leaders and Christian workers from England’s most deprived communities as part of a growing movement of Christians tackling poverty in this country.
 Read more »

I am one in a million

in

Youth unemployment is at a record high, affecting over one million young people in the UK. 

The purpose of this study is to highlight this issue and by voicing the stories of young people with first hand experience of unemployment. Our research is based on 18 focus groups hosted by youth projects funded by or supported  by Frontier Youth Trust and Church Urban Fund.

Growing church through social action: a national survey of church-based action to tackle poverty (2012)

in

Tackling poverty = church growth?

There is a hypothesis that when a church looks outward - actively loving and serving its neighbours, especially the 'least of these' - then the church will be healthier and will grow.

Comissioned by Church Urban Fund and conducted by Christian Research Consultancy, the aim of this research is to explore the impact that social growth has on churches, as well as on the communities they serve. How does active engagement in the community help to stimulate church 'growth'? Read more »

Poverty and Fresh Expressions - Emerging Forms of Church in Deprived Communities (2012)

in

What are the issues do fresh expressions of churches face in communities of extreme poverty?

Working in deprived areas, many Christians have often tried to set up initiatives and projects that support people materially and also seek to connect people to God and the wider church. Church Urban Fund commissioned a study by the Oxford Centre for Ecclesiology and Practical Theology (OxCEPT) into how this was being worked out. This report summarises the key issues facing emerging forms of church in deprived communities.

Mentoring Young Men and Fathers - Case Study

in

Would you like to support young men and fathers in your area? This case study shares learning from a mentoring charity called SixtyEightFive, a CUF partner project. It has great ideas about how to come alongside men and boys facing difficult situations. This is the first of a series of case study resources for Christians wanting ideas about how to tackle different aspects of poverty in their areas.

Download the Case Study.

Bias to the poor? Christian attitudes to poverty in this country (2012)

in

One of the challenges of tackling poverty in England is to raise awareness of its existence and increase understanding of what it means to be poor in an economically developed country like ours.

Christian theology provides a distinctive perspective on poverty, including an in-built ‘bias to the poor’ and a strong emphasis on a personal and collective responsibility to help those in poverty as an expression of God’s love for, and identification with, the ‘least of these’. This research looks at how this theology is reflected in the attitudes of clergy and churchgoers and, in particular, whether they think differently to the rest of the population about issues of poverty and inequality.

Our new Lent poverty course is designed to get churches, youth groups and small groups thinking and talking about issues related to poverty, particularly the perception of what 'poverty' means. The course is free to download, and includes real-life stories, prayers, discussion topics and reflections for each week of Lent.

Have your say: are you surprised by the research findings? Add your comments below.

Power, Poverty and the Church, 9 November 2011

in

How can we build a movement of Christians committed to tackling poverty in this country? And how can we help churches to engage more effectively with those in power?

Organised jointly by Church Urban Fund, Church Action on Poverty and St John’s Waterloo, this workshop brought together church leaders, activists and anti-poverty charities from across denominations to begin to address these questions.

To stimulate debate, we asked three prominent Christian social thinkers to share their views and experiences: Dr Luke Bretherton, Reader of Theology & Politics at King’s College London; Canon Paul Hackwood, Chair of Church Urban Fund; and Niall Cooper, National Coordinator of Church Action on Poverty. The event was chaired by The Revd Helen Dawes, Deputy Secretary for Public Affairs at Lambeth Palace.

Rosie Bairwal (CARJ), Mo Smith (RISE-Regenerate) and The Revd Giles Goddard (St John’s, Waterloo) contributed to the panel discussion.

Holding on by a shoestring: tracking the impact of the cuts on voluntary groups in England's most deprived areas (2011)

in

Voluntary groups have a vital role to play in supporting some of the poorest and most marginalised people in our society, no more than in the current economic climate when many people are suffering the effects of rising unemployment, higher living costs and cuts in local services.

This study, which follows an earlier report in March, looks at how church- and faith-based projects in deprived areas are coping in the light of the spending cuts, based on a survey of nearly 150 Church Urban Fund-supported projects.

Tackling homelessness together: a study of nine faith-based housing projects

in

Church-based voluntary projects are reaching out effectively to many thousands of people suffering homelessness and other related problems up and down the country.

This new report summarises the results of a study carried out by Church Urban Fund and Housing Justice to understand how churches are responding to housing-related issues in their communities and how more might be done to make a bigger impact.

Life Expectancy Wirral: How churches are tackling local inequality (2011)

in

Life expectancy varies by up to 11 years across the five-mile wide Wirral peninsula - a pattern that is mirrored in many other parts of the country.

As Christians and churches, how do we feel when we see these vast differences in health and opportunities and what can we do to stop this injustice? It was in response to these questions that the Bishop of Birkenhead and the Diocese of Chester set up the Life Expectancy Wirral programme in 2009, with funding from Church Urban Fund. This report outlines some of the key findings.

The Web of Poverty: Area-Based Poverty and Exclusion in England (2011)

in

This report highlights the inequalities between the most deprived areas in England – where most of CUF’s support is targeted – and wealthier areas, showing how almost every aspect of human existence is impacted by poverty.

It uniquely combines the views of local project leaders on the issues affecting their communities with a comprehensive statistical  profile of the problems they identified. The examples given by project leaders show how how these problems are closely interlinked, trapping people in a ‘web of poverty’. 

Poverty Briefing: The Living Wage and the role of the Church (2011)

in

Church Urban Fund, Church Action on Poverty and the Diocese of London ran a joint workshop in May exploring issues around the Living Wage and the way that the wider Church should respond, both as a spiritual body with a public voice and as an employer.

What is a Christian perspective on the Living Wage? And what can or should churches and individual Christians be doing to promote it? Four Living Wage proponents, from the US and the UK, shared their experiences and perspectives during the workshop; their views - along with a selection of case studies - have been summarised by Tom Sefton of the Church Urban Fund.

At the Cutting Edge: A Survey of the Impact of the Spending Cuts (2011)

in

This report summarises the results of a special survey carried out by Church Urban Fund and Church Action on Poverty to monitor the impact of the public spending cuts on voluntary groups in the most deprived areas of England.

Undertaken in January 2011, the aim is to get beyond the headline numbers - an £81 billion reduction in government expenditure over four years - to how this is impacting at a grassroots level, through the eyes of project leaders who are working with some of the most marginalised people in our society.

Working Well in a Multi-faith Community

in

St Christopher's Church is based in predominantly Muslim area in Birmingham. Over the last few years, it has worked with the mosque across the road and the local council and recently opened the Springfield Children's Centre. The church has been able to engage positively and effectively without losing its Christian distinctiveness. Find out the lessons learnt from the CUF case study - "Let's Get On" - full version (or summary).

Also check out Richard Sudworth's Distinctly Welcoming website and book - full of insights, reflections and ideas on multi-faith working.

Challenging Communities

in

Produced in partnership with the Churches Community Work Alliance, the Challenging Communities booklet demonstrates how the church is a vital link in sustainable community development.

It offers practical advice on how to engage the church in local partnerships and harness its valuable resources.  You can order a copy of the booklet from the Churches Community Work Alliance.

The Mustard Seed Effect

in

The Mustard Seed Effect: the wider role of Church Urban Fund in areas of urban disadvantage.

Author: Adam Dinham, 2005.

Over the last twenty years in which the Church Urban Fund has been operating, it has been repeatedly observed by those involved that Church Urban Fund grants have had a ‘mustard seed effect’, in which great successes have grown out of the initial investment by CUF.

Read more »

Faith Representatives on Local Public Partnerships

in

Faith Representatives report coverThis research was undertaken in 2006 by the Church Urban Fund in partnership with Coventry University and the Faith-based Regeneration Network (FbRN) on behalf of the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG).

Among other findings it reveals that over 80% of faith representatives would like to see the establishment of a national network of faith representatives with an easily accessible expertise database. This would enable representatives to communicate more effectively and draw upon the support, experience and expertise of one another.

Read more »

Effectiveness and Impact Survey

in

Effectiveness and Impact Survey cover

Church Urban Fund's 2007 survey of its projects highlighted some key facts about our impact at grassroots level.

As well as additional confirmation that Church Urban Fund support has helped projects to attract funding from other sources, the survey also highlighted the value added by other forms of support offered by CUF. Overall, the survey reinforced the view that many projects have important issues with funding and self-sustainability beyond the lifespan of the grant.

Read more »

Projects in crisis: a learning experience (2007)

in

Projects in Crisis: A Learning Experience undertook a review of projects across a sample of Church of England dioceses, looking particularly at those that had faced crisis.

The primary aim was to develop a detailed understanding of the reasons why some church-based social action projects ‘fail'. For the purpose of the study, ‘failure' included failure of project to achieve their original aims, loss of focus or direction, or experience of financial or managerial crisis.

The report outlines the key difficulties faced by projects in crisis and helps understand the features of a successful project. It also identifies broader issues and makes recommendations so that crisis can be avoided, minimised or managed.

Day in the Life 2008

in

The Day in the Life report analyses the findings of a snapshot survey of projects supported by Church Urban Fund.

The new report, published in April 2008, illustrates the significant achievements of the faith-based social action projects we support and Church Urban Fund's role in helping them to thrive as they tackle the day-to-day issues caused by poverty and social exclusion.