Community-centred and asset-based approaches
There is growing interest in community-centred and asset-based approaches that help to improve health and wellbeing, reduce health inequalities and support people with long-term conditions. During COVID-19, our local communities have been a vital part of the pandemic response and will continue to be important as we move towards recovery.
There is published guidance on what we mean by community-centred and asset-based approaches and the types of approach that work. Outcomes from these approaches include increased social connectedness, empowerment, participation, cohesion, resilience and social capital. These community level outcomes help protect our health and buffer against disease.
Community-centred and asset-based approaches are, by their nature, diverse and work differently in every locality. It is often difficult to assess, measure and compare the wider social impacts of these kinds of approaches, but there is evidence for a good social return on investment.
Practice examples are an important way of capturing the evidence on what is working, why and how, and what learning may be useful for other areas. This page is part of a growing collection of practice from across England, that has been captured as part of our programme of work to improve access to evidence on what works when it comes to community-centred and asset-based approaches.
The full collection of community-centred practice examples is available below, or you can choose the appropriate topic from the ‘family of approaches’. Many of the examples in our collection use more than one kind of approach.
| Community-centred and asset-based approaches: family of approaches | |||
| Strengthening communities | Volunteer and peer roles | Collaborations and partnerships | Access to community resources |
Some local areas have scaled up one or more of these using a whole system approach.
We have also collaborated with the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) to collate some case studies that showcase the role of volunteering in whole system approaches.
Finally, we have also collaborated with the Local Government Organisation (LGA) to pull together case studies of community champion programmes which have supported local responses to COVID-19. For more information on community champions approaches more generally, please refer to our rapid scoping review on this topic.
Practice Examples
Click on the title of the case study in the table below to view the full text. The search box will return relevant results from the whole collection.
Community Champions
This rapid scoping review pulls together existing research on community champions and considers the potential for community champion approaches to be used to support the pandemic response and recovery. It summarises the best available evidence from previous UK champion programmes focused on health improvement and from international studies of champion-type roles in communicable disease control.
Overall, findings show that champion approaches are highly relevant to reducing health inequalities as champions are able to reach and connect with different communities. Community champion approaches can be applied flexibly to meet local needs and assets, and there are range of different models that can be used. The review also highlights evidence on what’s needed for successful implementation. Examples from practice are used to illustrate and strengthen these findings wherever possible.
Are you interested in submitting a practice example? Visit the practice examples homepage for templates and checklists.
Last Updated on 16th June 2023
