Cen-Alliance is not just a new initiative—it’s the product of over two decades of frontline experience, systemic insight, and community-led innovation. Rooted in South London, with a growing reach across the UK and internationally, we exist to build community power, create systems that listen, and lead with lived experience.
To understand us, you need to understand where we come from.
Our story begins in 1999 with the New Deal for Communities (NDC), a government programme that gave Clapham Park £56 million to tackle deprivation. While it promised “resident-led” regeneration, in reality, bureaucracy and top-down control stifled innovation. But amidst the limitations, something real emerged: people like us—working on the inside—began acting as urban social brokers, building trust between communities and the system.
From there, we launched STREET after the 7/7 bombings—tackling extremism among Black converts in Brixton by engaging directly with identity, race, class, and disenfranchisement. Where government couldn’t reach, we built trust.
Next came Centric, our research platform. We rejected extractive, outsider-led studies and trained instead—local people with deep understanding. During the pandemic, they led vital work on vaccine hesitancy, grounded in nuance and cultural insight.
Then came 2020.
The global response to the murder of George Floyd sparked a wave of short-term, reactionary funding. We called this fear-based philanthropy: funders rushed to support Black-led orgs, but often without strategy or long-term commitment. Those closest to the issues were left competing, sidelined, or tokenised.
In 2024, far-right riots swept through working-class neighbourhoods. Migrant hotels burned. Racialised violence escalated. As the headlines faded, communities were left to pick up the pieces.
At Centric, we didn’t wait. We went directly into affected communities—including white working-class areas—to engage, understand, and prevent future harm.
That agility, trust, and fearless engagement laid the foundation for Cen-Alliance.
Systems continue to offer “community power” with one hand—while clinging to control with the other. If you agree with the professionals, you're supported. If not, you're ignored.
Cen-Alliance is here to break that cycle.
We are an Urban Anchor Organisation: deeply rooted in place, but equipped with new tools, networks, and vision. We support changemakers who cross economic and cultural boundaries, without losing the values that ground them.
Through AI tools, training, research, mentoring, and ecosystem building, we help communities unlock resources, navigate systems, and lead real change—on their terms.
We’re not here to repackage old models. We’re here to reimagine the future—one built on trust, not tokenism. One where communities don’t just get a seat at the table—they build the table.
Let’s stop repeating history. Let’s build something better.
Centric Community Research was established to give communities ownership over knowledge — equipping them to lead their own research and generate evidence that reflected their lived realities. It emerged at a time of deep mistrust between institutions and communities and helped shift the balance of power. Communities were no longer just participants in someone else’s research — they were driving it. But Centric also exposed the limits of research when it isn’t met with a commitment to action by the system. Communities have always known what the problems are. They also hold the solutions. The question has always been how to move from insight to impact — and lead the change.
Cen-Alliance builds on over two decades of work at the intersection of community leadership, research, and system change. It began with Centric Community Research, an initiative created to give communities ownership over knowledge—equipping local people to lead research and generate insights rooted in lived experience.
Centric helped shift how research was done in underrepresented communities—moving from extractive models to community-led approaches. But over time, it became clear: research alone isn’t enough. Communities often already understand the issues and hold the solutions. The challenge is translating insight into action—and building the partnerships and infrastructure needed to make real change possible.
That’s where Cen-Alliance comes in.
Cen-Alliance is a social broker—a platform that helps build trusted partnerships between communities and institutions. Our role is to support "unlikely alliances" between local leaders, grassroots groups, and public or private systems—connecting them through shared values, mutual benefit, and practical collaboration.
These relationships are built on trust and understanding, not tokenism. We focus on bringing tools, resources, and knowledge into communities in a way that supports sustainable, community-led development.
Even today, communities and institutions often struggle to work effectively together. The reasons are well known:
Cen-Alliance bridges that gap—creating routes that help communities move their ideas forward, and enabling systems to engage more meaningfully with the people they serve.
Cen-Alliance is deeply rooted in South London, with strong ties across the UK, Africa, and the Caribbean. Our work focuses on three interconnected areas:
We deliver this through research, mentoring, training, capacity-building, and emerging technologies—including AI tools designed to support under-resourced community organisations.
We imagine a future where communities aren’t just consulted but are leading the way—designing the solutions they know will work. Through long-term partnerships and community-rooted innovation, Cen-Alliance is here to support that vision.
