The CAPS (Community, Academics and Public Sector) Research Project 2025 set out to understand how local and national government policies shape Leicester’s ability to become a safe, sustainable and inclusive city aligned with the ambitions of Sustainable Development Goal 11.
Conducted between May and July 2025, the project brought together perspectives from community leaders, public sector partners and De Montfort University researchers through surveys and interviews.
This exploratory work had three core aims:
- to gather grounded evidence from those working closest to Leicester’s challenges;
- to map DMU’s research strengths in areas relevant to SDG 11;
- and to identify the issues, gaps and opportunities that most influence progress on housing, transport, urban planning, resilience and community wellbeing.
The findings will serve as a foundation for long-term collaboration. CAPS is now moving towards establishing themed research groups that bring academics, public sector partners and community organisations into structured, problem-focused partnerships.
These groups will generate robust evidence capable of informing policy development and supporting Leicester’s ambition to be a city where all residents can thrive safely and sustainably.
The full report follows offers detailed analysis, evidence and next steps. There is also a shorter, abridged report.
These documents are shared to provide a starting point for scholars researching the city of Leicester. They also provide a reference point for anyone joining the CAPS Research Project from the Community, Academic or Public Sectors.
The full report is here
The abridged version is here