Doing With, Not To: How to involve communities in your anchor work
Health Anchors Learning Network invites you to this upcoming online webinar, focused on the ‘how-to’ of working with communities in your anchor work. Discover practical approaches, learn from real-world examples, and explore how communities can play a pivotal role in supporting anchor work to reduce inequalities and improve health outcomes.
This session will take place online on Zoom and is open to all. Find out more about what will be covered below.
About the session
Anchor organisations are rooted in communities. They play a significant role in shaping their place, and have the potential to make a significant impact on the health and wellbeing of the population they serve.
Effective anchor organisations make impact by responding to the needs, context and aspirations of their community to shape their activity, tackle inequalities, and empower communities to address systemic challenges. Meaningful involvement of communities, and especially people who are most affected by inequalities, need to be at the heart of anchor approaches. While the importance of collaboration with communities is widely recognised, understanding how to meaningfully involve communities in the design and delivery of anchor strategies is often less clear. This isn’t about how anchors can consult on their priorities once they are developed, or do better community engagement, but how teams at the centre of developing their anchor strategy can carve out spaces for meaningful community engagement that can inform anchor strategies from the get go. For example:
Considering how your social value priorities can be informed by local business and community needs and assets
Rooting your net zero aspirations in the local economy and community context
Working closely with local citizens and community groups on how to re-design your workforce promotion and engagement processes
This interactive and informative webinar will draw on examples of Anchors working in partnership with communities to co-develop and deliver their anchor strategies and activities. The session will focus on the “how-to” of effective engagement and involvement, with a focus on practical tips for working with those communities who experience some of the highest barriers to good health and wellbeing.
Speakers:
As part of this webinar we’ll hear from:
Amy Beswick (Project Leader, Leeds City Council) on how the Leeds Anchor Network partnered with the local community anchor network on a listening exercise to capture community perspectives on the barriers faced by communities in Leeds to accessing work and skills, and the opportunities for anchors to address these barriers through their own practices.
Althea Bart (Head of Community Participation, Whipps Cross University Hospital) on her experience delivering inclusive community engagement initiatives as part of NHS anchor strategies.
What will I gain by attending?
Join us for an opportunity to:
Hear from real examples of anchor organisations and networks working together with communities to address barriers to good health
Reflect on your own approach, and take away practical tools to support you
Contribute to emerging learning about anchor approaches across the UK