Neighbourhood Health in Action: Insights from six communities leading change

We’ve partnered with the NHS Confederation to work on an action research programme with six Big Local and legacy areas – exploring how community-led action can work with NHS systems and local government, and how these insights can shape future health policy. In this article, Ruby Frankland, our strategic partnerships manager, shares key learnings from the first full action learning session, and looks ahead at what’s next.

Communities leading the way on better health

On 9 September, I had the privilege of joining six pioneering community-led projects for the first roundtable in our action research programme with the NHS Confederation and delivered by the Innovation Unit. 

Together, we’re exploring how neighbourhood-level action can transform health outcomes and, just as importantly, how communities can work in genuine partnership with NHS systems and local government. 

This session marked the start of our journey to surface insights from the frontline and test new models that put people and place at the heart of health policy. 

The action research model is key: it allows sites to test and adapt ideas in real time, and experiment with successful approaches without the constraints of traditional commissioning.”

Why this programme, why now 

We’re at a pivotal moment. Across the NHS and wider health system, there’s growing recognition that prevention, connection, and collaboration are central to improving health outcomes. 

The new National Neighbourhood Health Implementation Programme (NNHIP) seeks to amplify the vital role of neighbourhood-led work, largely through collaboration between statutory providers and health care professionals.  

Our action research programme complements the NNHIP by testing what happens when communities themselves take the lead on health, generating insights about how the grassroots can feed directly into system-level policy. But while communities are ready to act, they’re often excluded from long-term planning, facing structural barriers and funding constraints. 

Through this programme, we’re working to: 

• test hyperlocal health solutions rooted in communities

• foster stronger collaboration between communities, NHS systems, and local authorities

• gather insights that can inform future health policy. 

Our action learning approach

Each participating area is developing its own local roadmap that identifies challenges, opportunities, and priorities. These plans are then shared across the group to: 

• highlight common barriers communities face 

• build mutual learning between different sites

• shape collective recommendations for NHS and local government partners. 

The action research model is key: it allows sites to test and adapt ideas in real time, and experiment with successful approaches without the constraints of traditional commissioning. By being site-led, collaborative, and deeply grounded in lived experience, we’re ensuring that community perspectives influence decisions that affect them most. 

Key insights from our first group meeting 

Despite working in very different contexts, the six areas shared several powerful common themes:

• Social connection is a health outcome

Communities consistently highlighted belonging and connection as critical to wellbeing and as important as clinical care. Whether it’s running local events, engaging isolated residents, or creating spaces where neighbours come together to advocate for themselves, informal networks often succeed where formal services struggle.

• Tackling isolation through practical solutions

Several sites are innovating around transport, access, and inclusion, recognising that at-risk groups are often the most isolated and least likely to engage with formal services. In one area, plans are underway for a volunteer-led transport scheme to help elderly and isolated residents attend medical appointments, go shopping, and connect with their community. 

• Building stronger partnerships with statutory services 

Communities are calling for longer-term, trust-based relationships with councils and NHS partners. Many shared frustrations with fragmented commissioning systems and short-term funding cycles that make collaboration difficult. At one site, these struggles are inspiring efforts to develop a unified coordination point to link residents with local VCSE groups, advocates, and frontline workers, ensuring that at-risk individuals don’t fall through the cracks. 

• Mapping local ecosystems 

Across sites, there’s growing momentum to map neighbourhood assets and identify the people, services, and informal networks that support health. For example, one area has trained community listeners to help residents address psychosocial challenges while shaping more responsive local services. 

This programme is an opportunity to rethink health from the ground up, starting with the assets, relationships, and energy that already exist within our communities.”

What’s next

Over the coming months, the six sites will: 

• continue developing and testing their local roadmaps

• share emerging insights and lessons across the group

• engage NHS and local authority leaders to embed community voices into health system decision-making. 

At Local Trust, we’ll keep convening learning sets, capturing insights, and publishing updates as part of this ongoing series. 

An invitation to join the journey 

This programme is an opportunity to rethink health from the ground up, starting with the assets, relationships, and energy that already exist within our communities. 

Sign up for updates from the NHS Confederation and Local Trust and stay up-to-date with our work.