Data from in-depth interviews with founders, leaders, staff and customers/ services users of community businesses in the housing, pubs and transport sectors. The research aimed to answer the following research questions: 1) What is 'success' for community businesses? 2) What makes a successful community business in the housing, pubs and transport sectors? 3) In each of the three sectors, can common models or pathways to success be identified? 4) What are the common enablers and barriers, within and across sectors? Power to Change commissioned NatCen Social Research and WPI Economics to conduct a mixed method study exploring the success factors for community businesses in the housing, pubs and transport sectors. Community businesses are defined by Power to Change as businesses that are locally routed, trade for the benefit of the community, are accountable to the local community and have some broad impact on the local community.

A case study approach was taken with 12 successful community businesses in the housing, pubs and transport sectors. A total of four community businesses were selected in each sector; businesses were selected on the basis of them being successful. For the purposes of the study success was defined on the basis of businesses successfully setting up and running a community housing project, running a pub or delivering a transport service. To achieve range and diversity among the sample community businesses we selected using the following selection criteria: a) a range of different geographical locations (urban and rural); varying lengths of time a business was established; b) both businesses who had diversified (i.e. were delivering more than one service) and those that had not. Within each case study four in-depth telephone or face-to-face interviews were conducted with founders, leaders and staff. In each case study a focus group was conducted with service users/ customers of the business.