What is the community sector?

The community sector is the part of the voluntary and community sector (VCS) that is driven by the communities it serves. The community sector is made up of a wide range of different types of activity and organisations, including:

• Community activists – individuals who motivate others in a community to take action
• Community groups – these are small and often informal and are run on a voluntary basis by the people who benefit from the activity, they may or may not have a constitution
• Community development workers – these are professionals who are employed by a range of different organisations to work with communities, engaging individuals in community action and to develop community groups in a particular neighbourhood or community of interest
• Community associations – these are organisations whose membership is made up of community groups or local residents in a community, they often represent the community to outside agencies
• Community centres – these buildings often provide a space where the community groups and other activity takes place
• Community anchors – these are often larger multi-purpose organisations that are governed by the local community and provide representation for their community
• Tenants or residents associations – these are organisations whose membership is made up of tenants or residents in a community
• Specialist community activity – there is also a wide range of activity that takes place at community level, owned and run by the community for example, community arts and sports events, city farms and community gardens,community run youth groups, community learning opportunities, advice centres and community conservation activity

The community sector makes a unique and important contribution to civil society. This includes:

• Building social capital, or relationships between people in communities leading to a decrease in crime, an improvement in health and well-being and a decrease in dependence on the state
• Providing free or low cost activity or services to people who may otherwise be unable to afford it to improve their quality of life
• Providing an entry point for those with low levels of educational achievement to gain new skills and confidence to re-enter education or employment
• Increasing engagement in local democracy and the governance of formal institutions operating in the community