If you're not engaging with the broader infrastructure around you, if you're not thinking about more than just the people through your door, you're probably not doing place-based work.
John Hitchin
Co-Founder, Stories of Change
About This Episode
In this episode, Matt and Tenille speak with John Hitchin, co-founder of Stories of Change and co-author of the Place and Evidence in the UK report. John unpacks what genuinely makes work place-based versus just happening in a place, and walks us through a new taxonomy of five categories of place-based change — each driven by different mechanisms and requiring different forms of evidence. It's a rich conversation about aligning evidence to how change actually happens, the role of relationships, and what it takes to build a field of practice.
Key Takeaways
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1
Place-based work engages with infrastructure, not just individuals
The difference between working "in a place" and doing place-based work comes down to whether you're engaging with the social, state, and market infrastructure around you — or just serving the people who walk through your door.
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2
Not all place-based work is the same
The report identifies five distinct categories of place-based change, from continuous local social change through to large-scale market interventions — each driven by different mechanisms and requiring different forms of evidence.
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3
Align your evidence to how change actually happens
The biggest problems arise when funders and practitioners mismatch their evidence approach with the type of change being pursued — such as demanding quantitative outcome data from work that is fundamentally about building social capital and relationships.
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4
Funders should interrogate their own values first
Before deciding what to measure, funders need to be clear about what they actually want to achieve — because that determines which category of place-based work they should invest in and what evidence is appropriate.
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5
Shared language, not shared frameworks
Frameworks are like toothbrushes — everyone wants one, but no one wants to share. The goal isn't one universal framework, but broad consensus on how we understand different types of place-based work and their mechanisms.
Topics Covered
Resources Mentioned
- Stories of Change — John's partnership focused on strategy, evidence, and narrative for social impact
- Place and Evidence in the UK — the report discussed throughout this episode (Hitchin, Little & Waldie, 2025)
- Place and Evidence Substack — ongoing writing and thinking from John and colleagues
- Place Matters — commissioned the report and convening place-based practice in the UK
- Historical Review of Place-Based Approaches — Lankelly Chase (2017)
- The Mycelial Network — a UK network of community asset developers
- We're Right Here — a campaign for community power
- The Relationships Project — exploring the role of relationships in public services
- Grapevine, Coventry & Warwickshire — connective scaffolding in practice
About John
John Hitchin
Co-Founder, Stories of Change
John Hitchin is co-founder of Stories of Change, a partnership helping social impact organisations with strategy, evidence, and narrative. With over 20 years of experience across evaluation, community regeneration, and social enterprise leadership — including 14 years as CEO of Renaisi — he brings deep expertise in place-based approaches to social change. He is co-author of the Place and Evidence in the UK report, which proposes a new taxonomy for understanding different types of place-based work and the evidence they need.
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