Community Chest Evaluation Report
The Community Chest is a model that has been developed by TPHC and partners and is a mechanism for statutory and non-statutory partners to work collaboratively towards the larger aim of reducing health inequalities. The model is designed to be flexible, enabling the approach and delivery to be adapted to local needs and contexts.
TPHC commissioned an independent evaluation by Care City, a social enterprise based in North East London, of its implementation in Tower Hamlets and Barking & Dagenham.
These two London boroughs took different approaches to local development and delivery of the programme: one took a traditional grant model approach to distributing funds and outsourced the ongoing delivery of the programme to a third party; and the other took a more collaborative, participatory and VCSE-led approach to programme development, fund distribution and ongoing delivery.
This evaluation looked specifically at the impact of the programme on relationships between local stakeholders including Local Authorities, the NHS and the VCSE sector.
Evaluation aims
- Understand how the Community Chest impacts integration in terms of perceived integration and established markers of integration
- Understand how it impacts trust, in terms of perceived trust across all stakeholder groups
- Understand how it impacts collaboration and partnership working between different stakeholders
- Understand how it impacts social prescribing services maturity from the perspective of different stakeholders
- Understand what is useful about the process and what is not, and to develop recommendations
Evaluation goals
- Inform the future direction of the programme by sharing the impact
- Make the case for the Community Chest and scaling of the approach
- Identify the vital barriers and facilitators to implementation
- Share these to influence key stakeholders
- Enable the promotion of the Community Chest approach in other places
Key findings
Both approaches demonstrated strengths and weaknesses in relation to the aims of the Community Chest programme. A full in-depth evaluation of each approach can be found in the evaluation report.
The evaluation found that there were a number of key enablers that determined the success of the model. These are shown in the image below:
The Community Chest programme’s implementation requires a holistic approach prioritising local adaptation, stakeholder engagement, transparency and support. By addressing these areas strategically, places can foster collaboration, enhance community impact and effectively reduce health inequalities.
Resources
- On Thursday, 14 November 2024, we held a webinar with Care City to launch the report and to share the key findings, learnings and recommendations with system partners interested in piloting a similar approach. You can view the recording of this session here.
- The slides from the session are also available here.
Contact us
To find out more about the independent evaluation report please contact: theteam@carecity.org
If you’re interested in developing a similar project locally please contact: rf-tr.socialprescribing@nhs.net