About CAG Oxfordshire
CAG Oxfordshire is a county-wide network of more than 100 community action groups working to make Oxfordshire a safer, fairer, greener and more sustainable place to live, work and visit. Founded in 2001, it has grown into the largest network of its kind in the UK, bringing together local energy and volunteer-led action at scale.
At its heart, the network exists to support people taking practical steps in their own communities. From village halls to urban neighbourhoods, member groups are tackling issues ranging from waste and transport to food, energy, biodiversity and social justice. The shared ambition is simple but ambitious: to build resilient, empowered communities capable of thriving within ecological limits.
Alongside this local activity, CAG Oxfordshire convenes thematic “collaborate groups” that bring together organisations working on shared challenges. These include focused workstreams on waste, plastics, energy, trees and rewilding, schools, and food surplus. The aim is to reduce duplication, share learning, and accelerate collective impact across the county.
What CAG Oxfordshire does
Much of CAG Oxfordshire’s role is quietly enabling rather than visible campaigning. It provides day-to-day practical support that helps voluntary groups get off the ground and stay active, including:
- Advice, mentoring and expertise for setting up new groups and delivering community projects
- Help with securing appropriate insurance, including financial support for low-income groups
- Access to small grants and support in sourcing external funding for larger initiatives
- Communications support through newsletters and social media channels
- Training, networking and skills-sharing events across the network
- A shared resource bank of materials and toolkits
- Signposting to specialist organisations for advice and partnership working
- Support in engaging with local and national government structures
In practice, this infrastructure allows small, volunteer-led groups to operate with the confidence and backing of a much larger organisation.
Projects and place-based innovation
Beyond its core support role, CAG Oxfordshire also helps deliver a range of collaborative projects with network members, all aligned to its wider mission. These include initiatives such as:
- Replenish
- Owned by Oxford
- Libraries of Things
- Repair Cafés
- Connecting People with Nature
These projects reflect a consistent emphasis on circular economy principles, local resilience and community-led environmental action. More detail on current initiatives is available via the network’s project portfolio.
Partnerships, funding and governance
CAG Oxfordshire operates through a broad ecosystem of partnerships and funding relationships. A long-term core funding arrangement with Oxfordshire County Council underpins much of its work, alongside project funding from a range of charitable and institutional supporters, including foundations such as the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation.
The organisation is also based within Makespace Oxford, a community-led initiative focused on bringing underused buildings back into productive social use.
Networks and affiliations
CAG Oxfordshire is embedded within a wider set of regional and national networks. It is a member of organisations including Co-operatives UK, Transition Network, OCVA and Locality.
It is also part of Good Food Oxfordshire and signed up to the Good Food Charter, reflecting its commitment to local food system resilience.
The organisation is an Oxford Living Wage employer and works closely with a range of partners across the county, including environmental, community and social enterprises such as Oxfordshire-based initiatives like Wild Oxfordshire and other grassroots organisations supporting biodiversity, reuse and social value.
Transparency and reporting
CAG Oxfordshire publishes its annual report via its “Our Impact” section, alongside statutory financial statements and governance documentation. These include recent financial accounts covering 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024, and 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025, reflecting ongoing accountability and public transparency.
In summary
CAG Oxfordshire is less a single organisation and more a backbone for local action. By combining practical support, funding access, training, and network coordination, it enables hundreds of community-led initiatives to take root and grow. Its model is built on a simple idea: when local groups are connected, supported and resourced, their collective impact becomes far greater than the sum of their parts.
