A Community Action Network – West End, Morecambe Bay

Since January 2020, the Institute for Voluntary Action Research (IVAR) has been supporting the Lancashire & South Cumbria Health and Care System on a test and learn initiative. Working at a place-based level, we looked at ways to draw on local leadership and the power and capacity of communities to improve their own health and wellbeing – in the context of the changing role of commissioning, with a more community-centred focus in the Integrated Care System (ICS).

The West End (Morecambe Bay) vision has been to find ways to improve local lives through sharing resources, seeking investment, supporting each other and, most importantly, involving local people in the conversations and decisions that affect them. In this case study, we review the journey so far, lessons learnt and the next steps forward. Not only is this a reflective document for the ICS in Lancashire and South Cumbria and the Community Action Network set up in the West End (Morecambe Bay), but inspiration for other locales developing and progressing cross-sector partnerships.

To speak with IVAR about commissioning a project or for more information on cross-sector partnerships, please contact us on enquiries@ivar.org.uk 

For more information on this case study, please contact:

Yakub Patel – Chief Executive Officer of the Lancaster District Community and Voluntary Solutions –  yakpatel@lancastercvs.org.uk