ABSTRACT
Groundwork is a federation of local action networks whose impact commands attention as a potential model for application worldwide. Groundwork projects aim to improve the local quality of life, to foster links between companies and communities, and to involve all parties in the sustainable regeneration of local economies and environments. The partner school and company choose achievable aims connected with the company's environmental policies. The Groundwork Trusts are established in response to local demand, which can originate from local government agencies, businesses or other organizations. The Groundwork experience offers many lessons and pointers to good practice for other action networks and partnerships, such as those based around Local Agenda 21 and other programmes for environmental and social improvement. The Groundwork movement developed in the early 1980s from initiatives in environmental regeneration launched by the Countryside Commission, a public agency concerned with rural development in England and Wales.
