‘Communities Keeping Well’ is an innovative community partnership in Tower Hamlets using co-production to stimulate community engagement and grow participation, volunteering, networks and cohesion.
Background and objectives
Tower Hamlets is a fast-growing and diverse borough in East London. As well as being the most densely populated borough in England, with 15,695 residents per square kilometre, it is also the youngest – the average age of residents is 30.
A unique combination of characteristics brings both strengths and challenges to Tower Hamlets. The borough is home to some of England’s richest and poorest residents, and this inequality is reflected in health outcomes. One in 10 residents has Type 2 diabetes and there are high rates of early death from heart disease.
In order to create sustainable solutions for some of the issues faced by local people, Tower Hamlets Council has a strong focus on community engagement. Its ‘Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2021-25’ focused on putting the community first. The objectives set out in the ‘Community Engagement Strategy 2024-28’ – which was developed in partnership with residents, council staff, councillors and partner organisations – include:
- involving local communities in decisions that improve the borough
- enabling seldom-heard groups to participate
- feeding back to communities on their involvement.
Health and wellbeing
‘Communities Keeping Well’ (CKW) is an innovative community involvement partnership between the council’s public health division, primary care and the wider Tower Hamlets Together Integrated Care System, aiming to reduce health inequalities in marginalised communities. It is jointly funded by the North East London Integrated Care Board and public health.
CKW is focused on eight Tower Hamlets neighbourhoods which have the highest rates of poverty and long-term health conditions. Somen Banerjee, Director of Public Health, said: “We know that supporting residents to shape action to address their health and wellbeing priorities is key to improving health in the borough. Taking an asset-based approach in hyperlocal areas is working really well in bringing our communities together.”
The evidence-based co-production process being used for CKW was developed through the ‘Well Communities’ research programme, and includes:
- identifying community assets
- understanding community priorities
- recruiting volunteers and strengthening networks
- improving access to community resources.
A short-term aim is to achieve participation by residents from target neighbourhoods, giving them more control over their health and lives. Throughout 2024, local delivery teams (which include four jointly-funded community coordinators, council, primary care and voluntary sector staff, and volunteers) worked with seldom-heard communities to build trust and participation through face-to-face conversations – on the streets and doorsteps and through a series of ‘world café’ community events.
The impact
These conversations resulted in valuable insight on neighbourhood priorities and needs, which were further explored through workshops with stakeholders and residents. In total, around 850 residents and 100 voluntary and community sector organisations participated in the conversations, café events and workshops, with many engaging at multiple points across the process.
CKW is empowering residents and community groups to lead change. The first round of engagement activity culminated in 115 applications for resident-led health and wellbeing micro-projects. Small-scale funding was awarded to 65 of them, chosen by the communities themselves through well-attended community voting days. The micro-projects cover a range of areas, including:
- culturally appropriate exercise classes and walking groups
- healthy cooking sessions
- community gardening, social trips and events, sewing and craft workshops to support connection and mental wellbeing
- activities for children and young people, particularly those with learning disabilities
- supporting residents to access existing services and opportunities.
A strong overarching theme in this first round of engagement was social connection and community cohesion, highlighting how isolated many people feel. Across all the communities, there was real demand for opportunities to get together and meet their neighbours. Another round of engagement and voting will take place during 2025.
Monitoring data from the voting days showed that this work is reaching target residents, including people with limited English and those who face digital exclusion. Feedback suggests residents value the process as well as the projects resulting from it, with comments such as: ‘It’s amazing for networking and [an] opportunity to have [my] voice heard – I felt like my voice mattered,’ and ‘Thank you for supporting me through the process in such a caring way, I’ve felt really prioritised and important’.
Next steps
The long-term aims include:
- Improving early-stage prevention of long-term conditions by enabling a healthier lifestyle among the most deprived 20 per cent of the population and other at-risk groups.
- Ultimately reducing incidence of long-term conditions among those most at risk of developing them.
- Strengthening the role of primary care networks in wider population health management, enabling them to play an active role in preventing poor health in the wider community.
- Improving the design of primary care and wider health and social care long-term condition prevention services for the most deprived and diverse populations.
Progress is being measured through independent evaluation by the University of East London. Interim findings will be used to learn from and improve the programme, and – as the initial funding ends in summer 2026 – to support the case for longer-term funding if positive impact is demonstrated.
Another priority involves influencing service provision at a strategic level – making sure that the residents’ priorities and feedback is shared with service providers including other council services, NHS and external providers, and exploring how they can support and help sustain resident-led health and wellbeing initiatives.
Lessons learned
- The approach has been ‘bottom-up,’ listening to residents’ needs and issues from the start and building on existing strengths. This engagement takes time but is essential for the success of subsequent activities.
- The recruitment of diverse and multi-lingual staff and volunteers who understand cultural issues and can tap into local networks has been key to connecting with diverse communities.
- Catered community events taking place at the heart of the community helped to increase participation.
- Interactive participatory budgeting where residents have a stake in the outcomes is key.
Contact and further information
For more information contact Stef Abrar, Public Health Programme Lead: [email protected]
Further reading
Communities Keeping Well (CKW) website