Pathways into place-based work

This map shows different ways people contribute to place-based work – individually and collectively. It helps you orient yourself in the work, based on where you are right now. You can start anywhere. Follow what feels familiar, or explore other ways of getting involved. Click a pathway or practice point to explore further.

Don’t know where to start? Visit the landing pages for Collective pathways and Individual pathways to get a sense for the different parts of the map.

Pathways Map - Key

This map shows different ways people contribute to place-based work - individually and collectively - and where those forms of work connect.

Colours

Green - Individual pathways

Red - Collective pathways

Pathways

Each colour contains three pathways.

Pathways represent different ways of contributing, not stages or levels.

Practice points

Each circle represents a practice within a pathway.

Select a highlighted practice point to explore reflections, activities and resources.

You can visit practices in any order and return to them at any time.

Overlaps

The blue highlighted areas show where individual and collective pathways connect.

These highlight shared practices that influence both personal contribution and the wider conditions for place-based work.

Overlaps are shared ground, not additional steps.

How to use the map

There is no start or end.

Begin wherever feels most relevant to you.

Explore one pathway or move between several.

The map is designed for exploration rather than a fixed sequence.

Sustaining care and connection

Explore this pathway if you’re noticing how care, connection and wellbeing shape people’s ability to stay involved in place-based work. People often arrive here without intending to focus on conditions. They find themselves checking in, holding relationships or keeping things connected day to day.

In this pathway, care is not a formal role or service. It shows up in how people look out for one another, build trust, share responsibility and create the conditions that make participation possible and sustainable. This work is often informal and carried through everyday interactions.

The reflections below help you notice how care, trust and reciprocity show up in daily practice, and how they support the conditions that help place-based work continue locally.

Explore the pathway

Below are each of the points along this pathway. Click through to explore each one.

Shifting culture

Culture shapes how people experience and enact place-based work. It influences how the work is understood, practised and sustained. Small shifts in these patterns can open new possibilities and support more grounded, locally led ways of working.

Building structures that hold care

Routines, agreements and ways of working shape how people connect, learn and look after one another in place-based work. Small shifts in these routines can make the work feel more caring and sustainable.

Strengthening relationships

Relationships shape how people work together in place – how knowledge is shared, decisions are made and people stay connected across sectors, cultures and roles. They influence what becomes possible and how trust grows.

What supports this pathway

One-page overview

Download a one-page overview of this pathway to help you get oriented and consider a next step.

Download

A group of four adults, including a man in a wheelchair, sit and talk around a small table in a brightly lit, modern room. Two women stand in the background, one holding a drink and smiling.

Deep listening and analysis

Staying attentive to people’s experiences and holding space for others helps build trust and understanding, supporting people to remain connected and involved.

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A group of people sit around tables in discussion at a workshop or meeting. A man in glasses gestures as he speaks whilst others listen, with food containers, drinks, and papers on the table.

Trust and reciprocity

Trust grows through consistency, respect and mutual care. Reciprocity recognises that people both give and receive support, strengthening relationships and shared responsibility.

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