In 2024, City Bridge Foundation and The Baring Foundation jointly funded the five-year London Community Human Rights Programme (LCHRP), designed to support community and voluntary groups across London to adopt and embed human rights-based approaches in their work. The Baring Foundation administers the grants, while the British Institute of Human Rights (BIHR) and Just Fair were appointed as development partners to deliver human rights support.

Each programme year runs from 1 July to 30 June. The initial year — ‘Year 0’ — offered general support across London to understand community need, to build awareness of the potential for change using human rights approaches and reach out to potential partners. Activities included free workshops, events, and resources, with an emphasis on accessibility and relevance, and recognising the extreme fatigue and growing demands placed on London’s vibrant community sector. 

This laid the groundwork for the four core delivery years (Years 1–4), which focus on deeper, long-term support for four selected community groups. Following an open and accessible application process, four organisations were selected:

BIHR primarily works with IRMO and SCA, while Just Fair supports CP4H and Unfold. Each development partner provides sustained, tailored support to help these groups embed human rights approaches into their work. This is complimented by a residency model so each development partner also provides support to those they are not primarily working with, in addition to specific work bringing all partners together for support, reflecting and planning.

The programme follows a four-year model. Year 1 focused on learning, building knowledge and confidence in using the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA). Year 2 will build on this knowledge and confidence by supporting community groups to develop their own internal human rights-based approaches. In Year 3, community groups will have embedded human rights-based approaches across their work. By Year 4, the goal is for each group to use these embedded human rights processes to support their wider communities in using human rights to create positive social change.

This project has kindly been funded by the Baring Foundation and City Bridge Foundation. We are deeply grateful to the City Bridge Foundation and The Baring Foundation for investing in this rare but vital model of consistent, in-depth support. The energy, creativity, and commitment of the four community groups have already led to powerful impact, and we look forward to building on this momentum in the years ahead.