How do community-centred approaches work in practice: evidence from the Bromley by Bow case study
Building healthy communities is an essential part of reducing health inequalities. Community hubs such as Bromley by Bow Centre are one way of building community capacity, strengthening social connections and widening access to services at a local level. There is a need for more evidence on how community hubs like Bromley by Bow work and what outcomes result.
The following resources have been produced as part of a knowledge mobilisation project focused on disseminating evidence and learning from the Bromley by Bow case study. As a community hub, Bromley by Bow offers a particular model linking a community centre with primary care. Between 2016 and 2018, Public Health England supported the evaluation of the Bromley by Bow model as part of the ‘Unleashing Healthy Communities’ research project. The aim was to examine ‘what is the Bromley by Bow model and how could it be measured?’.
Key resources
Slide-decks
These slide-decks give a summary of the evidence and methodology contained in the research reports. They also aim to translate this information to the needs of a public health audience.
They are primarily designed to act as a legacy resource for anyone seeking to support the implementation, measurement and scaling of community-centred and asset-based approaches but will also be of interest to other stakeholders.
They are designed in such a way that you can select from within them and translate to your own contexts and purpose. They are not intended to be presented as a whole.
Community-centred practice examples
Practice examples are an important way of capturing the evidence on what is working, why and how, and what learning is useful for other areas. The collection of practice examples focused around community-centred and asset-based approaches can be found here.
Two practice examples link directly to the Bromley by Bow model and the research detailed above: –
Macmillan Social Prescribing Pilot in East London – details a social prescribing pilot operating out of Bromley by Bow Centre
Community in the Making: creative, collaborative community research – details the process of community research used in the Bromley by Bow model
Further information about the ‘Unleashing Healthy Communities’ research project
The Unleashing Healthy Communities research and development project was borne out of the idea that the experience of the Bromley by Bow model, and the insights from the community which has shaped it, could have wider resonance and application in other places. This work was led by two researchers, who were embedded within Bromley by Bow Centre for the duration of the project.
In the summer of 2018, Bromley by Bow Centre published the results of the research, which has: –
- Worked with staff and community members in creative and participatory ways;
- Investigated the Bromley by Bow model, through building a bank of stories and experience of living and working at Bromley by Bow;
- Explored what our community valued and ways to build health in a community;
- Provided a set of aspirational outcomes to help Bromley by Bow tell its story and measure its impact.
The work included a community research project, which worked with artists, local residents and community researchers to explore ‘what are the ingredients of a good life?’ and document this process.
More information on outcomes measurement and evaluation is available.
Further information
If you have an interest in healthy communities or community-centred approaches, please consider joining the Knowledge Hub group, which can be found here.
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Last Updated on 16th June 2023
