We want services that are equitable and inclusive.
Public and frontline services have a duty to offer inclusive support to more marginalised and sometimes vulnerable residents. We help organisations and community members to come together and shape services so that they work well for everyone, and particularly those who previously have not been encouraged to contribute to decision-making.
Here’s how we do it:
Inclusive Listening
We recognise lived experience as lived expertise. We go out into community spaces and listen deeply to people where they feel most comfortable, like barbershops and libraries. Our strengths-based approach focuses on understanding and enhancing the assets people already have, and supporting residents to help shape service design.
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Cost of Living Research
What was the ask?
Surrey County Council wanted to understand residents’ experience of the CoL crisis and how financial struggles and job loss has impacted their health and wellbeing. With a particular focus on understanding the experiences of those with long-term health conditions from the most deprived LSOAs in the region
What did we do?
We undertook mixed methods research complimenting ethnographic walkabouts and deep listening in community spaces (e.g. warm hubs, food banks) with a quantitative survey to gain a broader picture of the experiences of local residents
What was the outcome?
Findings from the research helped to inform the Council’s Winter 2023/24 support strategy and provided crucial insight from lesser heard pockets of the community to help inform Council thinking more broadly
Empowering People to Shape Services
By harnessing the power of co-design, co-production and peer research, we ensure community members have a direct influence over service provision. This participatory approach brings people together to achieve solutions that consider the reality of life in their community and offer them meaningful, long-term benefits.
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Community Co-design
What was the ask?
To address a health inequalities gap in North and West Bristol by identifying how community based interventions can support residents’ healthy ageing.
What did we do?
We worked in partnership with North and West Bristol Locality Partnership and University of West of England to undertake interviews with residents in their 50s and 60s with long-term health conditions in deprived areas. This led to co-designed community-based healthcare interventions to be supported by anchor voluntary and community organisations in Bristol.
What was the outcome?
The intervention ideas were directly fed into a business proposal for future funding which was successful and implementation will begin in early 2025.
Partnerships and Collaboration
We work across sectors, partnering with teams in public health, law enforcement, banking, utilities and beyond to help to inform more inclusive and accessible frontline services.
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Community Engagement Learning Partnership with Local Authorities
What was the ask?
To act as a learning partner supporting 13 London Boroughs who were in receipt of Community Engagement innovation funding. This fund, known as supporting London Boroughs’ Engagement Project, was funded by the GLA and run in partnership with London Councils
What did we do?
Our role as a Learning Partner was to bring together these diverse projects, troubleshooting challenges and spreading shared learning. This included facilitating a series of Action Learning workshops, conducting ethnographic visits to see the projects in action and understand their community impact first-hand, and providing one-on-one support sessions to help grantees reflect on and refine their engagement strategies.
What was the outcome?
This learning partnership has not only supported immediate community needs but also established new skills and practices within the councils. The insights and experiences gained will now inform and improve future community engagement efforts across London.
Recognising and addressing the disparities communities face in accessing essential services enables us to improve quality of life, reduce social isolation and achieve positive health outcomes.
