A new strategy aiming to transform health system partnerships in Barking and Dagenham has been endorsed, focusing on closer collaboration between statutory bodies and the Voluntary, Community, Faith, and Social Enterprise (VCFSE) sector.

The VCFSE Strategy – Equitable System Partnership was presented to the Health & Wellbeing Board and ICB Sub-Committee, outlining seven pillars designed to reshape the relationship between the VCFSE sector and the health system. This strategy, developed collaboratively with VCFSE organisations and statutory partners, aims to leverage the sector's unique strengths in prevention, health creation, and community engagement.

Community members engage in an outdoor activity, possibly related to gardening or a local initiative, as part of a health and wellbeing discussion.
Community members engage in an outdoor activity, possibly related to gardening or a local initiative, as part of a health and wellbeing discussion.

Key to the strategy is a commitment to genuine power sharing, equity, and co-production, ensuring VCFSE organisations are involved from the inception of commissioning and service design. Actionable steps include co-designing from inception, ensuring VCFSE representation in decision-making forums, establishing buddy systems between statutory and VCFSE organizations, and investing in VCFSE co-production training for health and care staff. This includes embedding sector representation in governance forums and resourcing co-production to ensure neighbourhood decisions are shaped by community insight.

Charlotte Pomery, Chief Strategic Commissioning Officer for NHS North East London, highlighted the ICB's commitment to shifting the relationship with the voluntary community sector, stating, We recognise there's more work to do to develop a delivery plan against each of those commitments and to make sure that we follow through, but it's an important sort of mark in the sand that we're really committed to shifting our relationship with the voluntary community sector on each of the seven pillars. While a specific timeline for this delivery plan was not detailed, the ICB has committed to endorsing the seven pillars and exploring investment in a VCFSE-led population health initiative.

The strategy also proposes a new tiered commissioning model, moving away from short-term, competitive funding towards longer-term, multi-tier investment. This includes small neighbourhood grants for grassroots organisations (operating with annual incomes under £100,000) to shape local health priorities, development grants for medium-sized organisations (with annual incomes between £100,000 and £500,000) to build capacity and deliver services, and multi-year strategic partnerships for leadership and sustained community services. The aim is to simplify processes, cover core costs, and embed social value, ensuring organisations of all sizes can contribute to population health. The ICB commits to coordinating VCFSE contracts through an anchor organisation and increasing investment annually.

Najnin Islam, Partnership Development Director for the NEL VCFSE Collaborative, emphasised the sector's vital role, noting that 61% of organisations are operating with annual incomes under £100,000. She added, The sector has a significant impact on the health and wellbeing of communities, giving them a voice, building trust in health and care services, offering accessibility and improved experience and demonstrating they can deliver across the range of need.

Further pillars include investment in capacity, infrastructure, and leadership; improved data integration and digital interoperability; shared resources and collaborative learning; and effective integration into neighbourhood working. The strategy calls for VCFSE organisations to have formal roles within Integrated Neighbourhood Teams, with targeted investment in community-facing roles.

A woman in a hijab smiles warmly while interacting with another person, suggesting community engagement and positive dialogue.
A woman in a hijab smiles warmly while interacting with another person, suggesting community engagement and positive dialogue.

The endorsement of this strategy signifies a commitment to treating the VCFSE sector as an equal partner, acknowledging that the health and care system cannot deliver effectively without their contributions.

The Seven Pillars of the Strategy:

The VCFSE Strategy – Equitable System Partnership outlines seven key pillars:

  1. Recognition of unique strengths in prevention and health creation: This pillar emphasizes investing in core VCFSE functions and integrating community-led prevention into care pathways to reduce pressure on acute services and improve access and outcomes. Actionable steps include ensuring VCFSE prevention and health creation activities are integrated into care pathways and improving access and uptake for at-risk groups to community-based health creation initiatives.
  2. Genuine power sharing, equity and co-production: This pillar focuses on involving VCFSE organizations from the inception of commissioning and service design, embedding sector representation in governance forums, and resourcing co-production. Actionable steps include co-designing from inception, ensuring VCFSE representation in decision-making forums, establishing buddy systems between statutory and VCFSE organizations, and investing in VCFSE co-production training for health and care staff.
  3. New tiered commissioning model focused on prevention, health creation and social value: This pillar advocates for a shift to a tiered funding model, moving beyond short-term and competitive funding. Recommendations include a tiered commissioning model with long-term small grants for grassroots organizations, development grants for medium-sized organizations, and multi-year strategic partnerships. It also calls for sector coordination through an anchor organization, covering core costs, simplifying processes, embedding social value, and increasing investment annually.
  4. Investment in capacity, infrastructure, and leadership: This pillar focuses on supporting the sector's foundational capabilities. Recommendations include developing leadership programs for underrepresented groups, providing shared back-office services, investing in digital infrastructure and training, and integrating VCFSE organizations into neighbourhood health centers.
  5. Improved data integration and digital interoperability: This pillar aims to create seamless information sharing between VCFSE and statutory sectors while respecting data protection. Recommendations include developing interoperable systems for data contribution and access to population health data, nurturing community intelligence networks, implementing proportionate and outcomes-focused evaluations, and enabling research partnerships. The strategy acknowledges challenges such as the truth versus proof issue, data access difficulties, and inadequate digital infrastructure for smaller organizations.
  6. Shared resources and collaborative learning: This pillar focuses on developing sector-wide infrastructure for knowledge sharing. Recommendations include establishing funded learning networks, joint training programs, digital resource hubs, and mentoring programs between larger and smaller organizations.
  7. Neighbourhood working and effective integration: This pillar recommends positioning VCFSE organizations as essential partners in the development of neighbourhood health services and integrated care teams. Recommendations include integrating VCFSE organizations into neighbourhood health hubs and Integrated Neighbourhood Teams, increasing funding for health creation activities and specific roles, and conducting comprehensive community asset mapping.

A diverse group of individuals engaged in a discussion around a table, with one person gesturing and others listening intently.
A diverse group of individuals engaged in a discussion around a table, with one person gesturing and others listening intently.

The strategy does not explicitly detail a comprehensive list of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). However, the VCFSE Collaborative has committed to working within the ICB's Outcomes and Equity Framework to frame outcomes and impact. The It Starts Here: Partnerships for Change document, which aligns with the strategy, lists specific outcome measures for its ten missions, including metrics related to healthy children, financial resilience, access to good work, prevention of long-term health conditions, independent living, and community safety.

This improved strategy, presented to the Health & Wellbeing Board and ICB Sub-Committee, can be found in the Public reports pack.

Agenda frontsheet