Giving communities in the valleys a say in how £1.8 million was spent
The challenge
As part of the Pen y Cymoedd wind farm development, Vattenfall made £1.8 million available to communities in the upper Afan, Neath, Rhondda and Cynon valleys to invest in local facilities and amenities. Rather than decide how that money should be spent internally, Vattenfall wanted the communities themselves to shape the process, ensuring the investment was genuinely responsive to local needs and priorities.
The approach
Vattenfall used Dialogue to host the community fund process, inviting local people to submit ideas for how the money should be spent and allowing others to rate and comment on suggestions. The early stages quickly surfaced a set of major themes reflecting the community's priorities, which were then used to focus subsequent stages of the process, with participants invited to share their views on specific issues including transport and health.
The results
The process gave communities a direct and meaningful role in shaping how a significant sum of public money was allocated, with local input driving both the direction and the detail of the fund. By opening up the conversation online, Vattenfall were able to reach a broad range of voices and ensure the resulting investment reflected what local people actually needed.
We need local people to come forward with their ideas. Some ideas will develop into projects that will get funded, so it really is important for people to get involved at this stage. We need to know what could make a difference in the area, what is needed, and why.
Delib is a govtech leader specialising in consultation and engagement, trusted by over 600 government organisations worldwide, including major planning projects. Since 2004, we've been building secure, accessible digital platforms to make participation simpler, fairer, and more inclusive. Our flagship product, Citizen Space, was built in collaboration with the UK government and has supported more than 11 million responses across over 110,000 democratic activities.