Place-based approaches including the Harlem Children’s Zone, City Connects in Boston and Strive Partnership in Cincinnati in the USA and Children’s Communities in England and other similar approaches in Europe and elsewhere have attempted to create a pipeline of support from birth to adulthood in the most challenging communities and to achieve collective impact (Henig et al., 2015). This paper articulates well with ideas, developments and concerns across the European context where persistent regional inequality is increasing social division, reducing acceptance of diversity and promoting mistrust of conventional political processes. Such inequalities reduce people’s substantial freedoms or capabilities (Sen 2009) in three general domains: economic: income, labour quality and private wealth; social: access to and quality of essential services and common wealth, and recognition: of one’s values, norms, role and aspirations. The paper explores the development and use of the Capabilities approach (Sen, 2009; Nussbaum, 2011; Burchardt and Vizard, 2011) to frame the key issues and opportunities related to children and young people growing up in high poverty neighbourhoods. This strikes a balance between locally developed, participative and grounded definitions of capabilities and capabilities derived from the academic literature. This paper will also draw out the lessons learned, challenges and opportunities from the design, implementation and legacy of the design-based research programme Children’s Neighbourhoods Scotland (CNS). Research undertaken with young people as co-researchers and professionals during the build up to, widespread lockdown and subsequent aftermath of the pandemic provide the contexts for exploring the impact of the pandemic on communities and professional practice, the legacy of the pandemic and ultimately the lessons learned including the challenges and opportunities faced in the design, implementation and sustainability during and beyond the lifespan of the funding. The paper concludes by reflecting on potential of adopting a capabilities framework in order include children and young people’s voices at the centre of a strategy to promote their wellbeing and achievement (Biggeri, 2007) and the potential for capabilities to support and empower young people to play a meaningful role in democratic decision-making processes. It explores the challenges and potential of the model including: importance of collaborative and distributed leadership, the role of reticulists (Sullivan & Skelcher, 2002); the need for actors from both academic and practice backgrounds to work across complex political, professional and geographical boundaries, and the time required to build authentic and trusting relationships within and across neighbourhoods.

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