past projects
Healthy Communities Together
2021 to 2025. Funded by The National Lottery Community Fund, with support from The King's Fund.
Healthy Communities Together was a four-year experiment in a different way of working together for fairer health in Gloucestershire. It brought the voluntary and community sector together with the NHS and local government, on the belief that real progress on health inequality depends on trust and genuine partnership rather than any one organisation acting alone.
As the work developed, its focus shifted from reducing health inequalities to building trust for fairer health, a strengths-based approach that put people and relationships at the centre. Rather than a traditional board or steering group, the partnership was held by a Stewardship Group of community and public sector leaders, creating the conditions for better collaboration, problem-solving and shared thinking and learning across the system.
Project at a glance
We brought our creative, collaborative approach to leadership into the heart of the partnership. Working with nowhere, we designed and ran the HCT co-lab: a leadership programme, which explored how people across sectors could develop the skills and trust to work together for fairer health. Fifteen leaders took part, from senior roles in health and the voluntary sector to people running local programmes and freelance practitioners. It was free to join, with support for care costs and access, and was built on the learning from our earlier Catalyst leadership programme. Participants came away with new skills and confidence, stronger relationships across the system, and a shared sense that more change is possible than they had thought. Many are now part of our Create Leaders alumni community.
Find out more
Read more on the HCT Gloucestershire website.