Transforming health inequalities in 100 days

SPARC Network policy briefing

Leverage points for community-driven change across the UK

It is time to move to a new phase in tackling health inequalities. Community-driven approaches hold the key but remain pockets of innovation and it proves hard to achieve real change in communities. We now need practical ways to confront the inherent difficulties of transforming health and social care systems.

This policy briefing was co-produced by 20 third sector, local and regional authority, NHS, and academic partners committed to community-driven change of health inequalities. It brings together insights from 30 recent reports, guides, and resources into a single roadmap for widening and deepening community-driven change. We offer five leverage points to achieve community-driven change together through 100 days iterative experimentation phases.

We invite you to join our growing alliance across the UK by embedding mutual learning and change driven by the assets and needs of communities.

Contributors

Reports

NLGN & Collaborate (n.d.) Place-based Health. A position paper

Jane South (2014) The family of community-centred approaches for health and wellbeing. Public Health England

Nuffield Trust (2014) Integrated neighbourhood teams: lessons from a decade of integration

Public Health England (2018) Health matters: community centred approaches for health and wellbeing

The King’s Fund (2018) Reimagining community services. Making the most of our assets

Health Innovation Network (2019) Social Prescribing Platforms Market exploration prepared for Healthy London Partnership

Health Creation Alliance & Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) Health Inequalities Standing Group (2020) How can Primary Care Networks succeed in reducing health inequalities?

Torbay Community Development Trust (2020) Social prescribing eco-systems: Building value and purpose to improve health and wellbeing through the development of a social prescribing ecosystem

IPRR (2020) Realising the neighbourhood NHS: Delivering a new deal for primary care in England

Public Health England (2020) Community-centred public health: Taking a whole system approach

Nicola Gitsham (2022) Harnessing social prescribing to support integrated care. A look at the role of social prescribing in integrated care and supporting elective care

Brian Fisher (2023), Literature review on personalised care, social prescribing and community strengthening, Health Creation Alliance, In Control & Leadership for Personalised Care

HM Government and National Academy for Social Prescribing (2023) NHS - Green Social Prescribing Toolkit

SCW (2023) How are Integrated Care Systems Strategies and Joint Forward Plans addressing health and healthcare inequalities?

Locality, Power to Change and VCSE Health & Wellbeing Alliance (2023) Creating wealth by stealth: Community anchor organisations, prevention services, and the wider determinants of health.

Launch workshop

We officially launched the policy briefing at an online workshop on Thursday 19 June 2025. You can watch the recording and download the slides.