Supporting anchor institutions to take a preventative approach to community health
Anchored in the Future
With The Health Foundation
Through designing (thanks to funding from NHS England and The Health Foundation in 2019-23, and ongoing investment from The Health Foundation) and delivering the Health Anchors Learning Network, we have supported anchor organisations across a range of sectors to intentionally tackle inequalities, focusing on the causes of poor health outcomes – such as work, housing and clean air – rather than just the result.
“[HALN has] absolutely informed our approach and practice in terms of evolving a clear, more strategic approach to our work around the whole health inequalities agenda.” Participant
The Network and its members recognise that this work is not only a central aspect of anchor institutions’ purpose, but that tackling inequalities can reduce pressure on public services in the long term, so it remains critically important in times of acute pressures and financial strain.
At Innovation Unit, our work is geared towards helping places and partners solve today’s urgent problems and grow sustainable, long term solutions for the future – building a safe and credible pathway between the two.
What is HALN and why was it created?
‘Anchors’ are organisations which are rooted in place and connected to their communities, such as universities, local authorities, and hospitals. They have significant assets and spending power, and the Network helps them consciously use these resources to drive positive social, economic and environmental impact and reduce inequalities.
In practice, this could look like the Lambeth GP Food Co-Operative, gardens in GP surgeries and NHS hospitals which empower both staff and patients to grow food in an active, social, safe, secure and supported environment, or Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust and St Basils Live and Work Scheme, which involved renovating a block of previously empty nurses lodgings to provide affordable accommodation for local health and social care apprentices.
Through the Network we disseminate and develop bespoke resources (including a virtual self-facilitated learning programme, events and tools), facilitate collaborative problem-solving and connect existing local or regional anchor networks. The narrative surrounding HALN is one of reliability and efficacy, as evidenced by an external evaluation as well as the continuous engagement and return of individuals and organisations to our platform.
“I routinely access the HALN website (and its resources) for advice and guidance.” HALN participant
HALN’s Impact
Despite the inherent challenges around complexity of assessing impact for a network like this, we can highlight three distinct avenues through which HALN’s influence is palpable, drawing upon Innovation Unit’s bespoke formula for innovation and impact.
Mobilising energy
Contributing to the growth of a movement committed to addressing health inequalities through developing a recognisable brand, sharing knowledge, connecting like-minded peers and building a body of evidence. This creates the narrative for more activity and supportive investment.
In the first 3 years of HALN, we built momentum across the UK through a range of activities including:
1,750+
people subscribed to a thriving newsletter network
22+
Public events run focussed on key pillars of anchor practice
1900+
Attendees reached
“It has been great meeting people at different stages of their journeys and understanding their challenges and successes. I am more aware of what can be achieved and how to achieve it” HALN participant
- Building an in-depth understanding of the work and impact of anchor organisations by creating and disseminating over 40 high-quality anchor learning products (blogs, videos, toolkits) and the first virtual self-facilitated anchor learning programme, free for anyone.
- Coaching practice and supporting local action through 6 oversubscribed action learning sets.
“This session was excellently facilitated. I particularly enjoyed meeting others from around the country, and was assured by the fact that many of them faced some of the same dilemmas as me.” Learning Set participant
We have continued to connect colleagues with one another through events, email, Future NHS, X and LinkedIn.
Generating Insights
Propelling work through providing a ‘One-Stop Shop’ for resources, support and ideas.
“There is nothing comparable to the HALN with its exclusive focus on anchors, the breadth of topics covered and the UK lens” HALN Evaluation
We generate new insights by:
- Sourcing case studies to inspire participants and share advice to improve practice. We disseminate these through our website, blogs, events and learning set pre-reading.
“Very interesting session. I am going away with lots of ideas! Would love to attend more sessions like this!” Webinar participant
- Showcasing international and cross-sector anchor approaches in our events and Learning Programme, and facilitating a safe space to share insights, learnings, challenges in the Learning Sets.
“The [Learning Set] themes were really good and they seemed really responsive to us. Understanding how [a mature anchor institution] looks at processes across the Trust … was greatly helpful and learning came as a result.” Participant
- Learning products: content comes through participants at HALN events, desk research, and meetings with colleagues across sectors and places.
“[I have gained] increased understanding and confidence… [from] the focus on measurement…, underpinning literature, great examples of anchor work and the learning and impact… ‘Anchor missions & the unique role of the ICSs’ gave the different approaches and enabled me to identify where my workstream and activities aligned to the 5 components.” HALN participant
We have had feedback not only that our insights are valuable and unique from HALN participants, but also from partners:
“Your support and the HALN are invaluable to our teams - there’s nothing else like it.” Nina Hemmings
Building capability and confidence
Playing a Role in Practice Change
“All of the [HALN] activity has helped to build my levels of confidence in what I’m doing, either hearing what other people are doing and their challenges, and seeing what’s possible” Participant
The Network does not just aim to disseminate knowledge, but to strategically enhance work of health anchor programme leads. We have a small but growing body of evidence that HALN’s practical resources, grounded in real-world applicability, contribute to a subtle yet significant shift in practice.
“[Engagement with the HALN] reframed how I was going to work with senior leadership. What it did was change the way I talk about anchors – breaking it down into those parts and holding the leadership to account on what they were doing on each section e.g. procurement and estates.” Participant
We build capabilities through:
- Creating practical and accessible resources which support practitioners through the complexities of their work, offering roadmaps to get started and overcome common barriers.
“I will be putting these resources to excellent use as I further develop our anchor and community wealth building approaches. The resources made available for session 2 (measures and metrics) will also be particularly useful to me.” HALN participant
“I think that in terms of developing our approach and strategy and informing our engagement with our board, [HALN] has helped position that. It draws on the learning and experiences of others which helps us avoid the same traps and helps us to do the right things.” Participant
- Facilitating Action Learning Sets and peer coaching – this approach fosters a community of practice where knowledge is not just transferred but actively applied, leading to a more profound understanding of effective strategies and their practical implementation.
According to the 2023 HALN evaluation:
One participant has “implemented quite a lot around employment. We’ve put in place lots of collaborative arrangements, lots of partnerships, that in some cases are beginning to feed up actual activity. Some of that is [due to] that guiding hand from HALN.”
One participant said that “an action learning session focused on measurement and impact had prompted them to introduce an online dashboard which pulls together key qualitative and quantitative metrics for measuring anchor impact. This would allow them to monitor these metrics throughout the year, as well as to more accurately report on the impacts of their anchor programme. In addition to the prompt to move forward with measurement of these metrics, the software tool they adopted to pull this data together was one they had seen presented at the Measurement and Impact session.”
“One consultee reported that, following the action learning sets, they had implemented a sector-based workplace academy for the ICS, providing both a benefit to the organisation, which received staff, and the people referred who were able to find work – ‘For us it’s been really tangible. We’ve had 368 people referred through our sector-based workplace academy.’”
– HALN evaluation 2023
- Connecting anchors across regions and sectors such as housing, education and the arts. By breaking down silos and promoting interdisciplinary interactions, HALN contributes to a dynamic ecosystem where insights from diverse sectors converge to enrich health anchor practices.
“I just thought it was a fantastic example… I loved the whole ethos of it…. And so I was trying to think locally and what could we do around that? - Scottish participant about an example of work in Birmingham which HALN featured at an event. [HALN] Has helped me to communicate with partners from different parts of the system (hearing trust, council experiences etc). Case studies are really helpful to share with partners and include in reports as examples of work from other areas. ” HALN evaluation form
In the 2023 HALN Evaluation survey respondents gave practical examples of how they planned to use the learning from the network to progress their local anchors work. For example:
- Establishing an anchor network locally and using tools from the HALN website to guide development and prepare information for sharing internally.
- To develop initiatives to employ more local people to support tackling health inequality.
- Setting up their own benchmarking for a health inequalities reduction project.
“I now have the tools to develop an effective anchor strategy for the organisation.” Evaluation form
The Network leverages a variety of learning methodologies to support colleagues across a range of sectors to grow sustainable, long term solutions for the future and prioritise prevention, whilst continuing to respond to acute pressures in the present day. At Innovation Unit, this bold, future-orientated and practical work is what we’re all about.
If you would like to learn more about how we can support you – or to talk to our partners about what working with us is really like – please get in touch with Rose Minshall