We have partnered with a small group of Local Authorities to explore how to prepare local government policy in a way that maximises local wellbeing. You can find out more about the cohort and their plans here. 

The pandemic has highlighted our existing fairness fault lines and created new ones.  The interconnected nature of an effective policy response made clear the role of economic policies in wellbeing – such as furlough in safeguarding jobs, lives and livelihoods crucial for our immediate and future wellbeing, and the social value of relationships, volunteers, community and connections. Joanne Smithson, our Local Government and Health Sector Lead.

What does a strategy that has a chance of maximising wellbeing and reducing wellbeing inequalities look like?
Evidence of what constitutes an effective strategy to improve population health and reduce health inequality is well developed: the Health Foundation’s Creating Healthier Lives and the Kings Fund’s  Vision for Population Health are two examples. In stark contrast, there is very little published research on the wellbeing counterpart.In order to begin to find out, I carried out a documentary analysis of a random, stratified sample of one in six English Local Authority health and wellbeing strategies, to see if it was possible to identify hallmarks of effective practice.  Read more