Transforming Community-Led Infrastructure Development in Surrey

Surrey County Council implemented Commonplace to revolutionise community engagement and infrastructure development. It was initially adopted for the Your Fund Surrey, a £5 million initiative and has become vital to the council’s approach to supporting transparency, inclusivity, and empowerment in public projects.

Surrey County Council faced key challenges in engaging residents effectively. More traditional methods like closed surveys were seen as detached and provided little transparency about how feedback shaped decisions. In addition to that, the need to involve communities in allocating substantial infrastructure funds highlighted the relevance of a more dynamic and interactive approach.

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Commonplace was introduced as part of Your Fund Surrey. The platform enabled residents to propose ideas, interact with others, and demonstrate community support via an interactive mapping tool. This innovative approach shifted the council’s engagement model from passive consultation to active collaboration.

Commonplace’s visual tools, such as geospatial mapping and project updates, allowed the council to present information in an engaging and accessible format. These features were especially valuable for large-scale projects, enabling communities to visualise changes and provide meaningful input.

The initiative generated remarkable levels of public engagement:

• 131,000+ ideas submitted by nearly 85,000 residents.
• 22,000+ people signed up for ongoing project updates.
• 582,000+ visits to the engagement hub (for wider initiatives beyond Your Fund Surrey).
• 213,000 contributions from 120,000+ respondents across various community projects.

Additionally, a real-time engagement dashboard helped identify who was participating—and who wasn’t. This enabled targeted outreach, ensuring underrepresented groups received additional support to get involved.

Interactive Heatmap for transparency 

Rather than relying on closed surveys or committee-led decisions, Your Fund Surrey introduced an interactive heatmap, allowing residents to:

• Drop a pin on a virtual map and suggest funding ideas (e.g., allotments, cycling paths, community center refurbishments).
• View, share, and support existing ideas in real-time, fostering a collective decision-making process.
• Increase transparency by making all suggestions publicly visible, sparking wider community conversations.

This method transformed engagement from passive consultation to active participation, ensuring residents felt heard and involved.

Inclusive Approach: Reaching Underrepresented Communities

Ensuring equitable participation was a key priority. The heatmap’s user-friendly interface made it accessible to a broad audience, including low-income groups, ethnic minorities, and typically disengaged communities.

To maximise inclusivity, the council adopted a blended outreach strategy, including:

• In-person events in local neighbourhoods.
• QR codes at bus stops for easy mobile access.
• Flyers, local newsletters, and a dedicated website.
• Social media campaigns to drive awareness.

By removing barriers to participation, this approach broadened representation and ensured a diverse range of voices shaped the funding decisions.

Continuous Engagement for Long-Term Trust

Rather than a one-off consultation, Your Fund Surrey created a multi-year engagement cycle:
Participants could return to vote on projects, view new designs, and provide feedback at every stage.
Interactive 3D proposals helped residents visualise projects before approval.

A continuous feedback loop strengthened trust, ensuring residents remained engaged throughout the process.

Outcomes

• Empowering Communities: The platform fostered transparency and trust by allowing residents to see how their input influenced project decisions. Residents were not just participants but active shapers of their local environment.
• Enhanced Engagement: Commonplace drew a broader demographic, including younger participants, compared to traditional platforms, with user-friendly tools encouraging ongoing interaction.
• Successful Implementation: Key projects funded through Your Fund Surrey include revitalized outdoor spaces, accessible walking trails, and community hubs, all developed with community-led input via the platform.
• Sustained Involvement: QR codes and regular updates ensured that communities remained involved, even after project initiation, building long-term trust and engagement.

Surrey County Council continues to integrate Commonplace into its broader strategy, using the platform for evaluating ongoing projects and planning future initiatives. This includes direct feedback loops at project sites via QR codes and expanding use across different departments to maximize its impact.

By adopting Commonplace, Surrey County Council has transformed its engagement processes, enabling residents to play a central role in shaping their communities. The platform’s ability to bridge the gap between community aspirations and practical implementation has set a new standard for participatory local governance.

Following the success of Your Fund Surrey, the council expanded its engagement efforts to cover a wider range of community topics, including:

• Sustainability & Climate Action
• Infrastructure & Active Travel
• Health & Wellbeing
• Arts & Culture

This model has transformed community engagement, making decision-making more transparent, inclusive, and resident-driven.