5 questions with...Sunita Pandya

1. Tell us about the Thriving Communities fund.

The Thriving Communities Fund (TCF) is a national support programme for local voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise groups, supporting communities impacted by Covid-19 in England, working alongside social prescribing link workers. The aim is that those involved will be able to share learning, gain new ideas, access funding and develop partnerships across sectors. 

Ultimately the programme champions, supports and shares the work of thriving community groups. The programme has been delivered in partnership with the National Academy for Social Prescribing, the Arts Council, Natural England and Historic England, with support from NHS England and NHS Improvement, Sport England, the Office for Civil Society, the Money & Pensions Service and NHS Charities Together. 

In 2020, we and partners gave 36 projects up to £50,000 to support them offering social prescribing projects across arts, culture and heritage, nature and green spaces, financial wellbeing and physical activity.  

2. What have been the key successes of the fund so far? 

I think a real success has been how the fund has enabled projects to help people access a range of community support services (which are non-clinical) across a variety of wellbeing dimensions such as confidence building, improving self-esteem or tackling isolation and loneliness. Being able to address such fundamental needs that might be non-medical but still have a huge impact on our health has been a pivotal part of the fund. 

The Fund is also helping local community groups and organisations work together in new ways. An early interim evaluation in September showed that 53% of projects report working with new partners as a result of the TCF, which really emphasises the collaboration at a community level that this fund was aiming for. 

 

The depth of engagement should be noted too, with 65% of participants attending at least two-thirds of the sessions. Multiple attendance shows the personal impact participants found through the programme.  

We are inherently creative in how we express ourselves, find solutions and live our daily lives

3. Arts and culture are the only activities to be delivered by all the projects. What would you say it is about arts and culture that makes them the most popular type of activity to be delivered? 

I think the reality is that every human being is and can be artistic. Whether it is dance and movement, or creating music through singing or even body percussion, to creative writing, design and crafts, we are inherently creative in how we express ourselves, find solutions and live our daily lives. 

I also think we shouldn’t underestimate the power of the arts and cultural activity during the pandemic. We’ve all turned to our favourite TV show, radio station, book or album. Finding comfort in the arts naturally inspires people continue their creativity in their everyday lives.

  

I have worked in the cultural sector for over fifteen years and I truly believe in the power of arts and culture to change peoples’ lives and see that social prescribing is very much at the “sharp-end” of the arts and health agenda.

4. Reflecting on the early project insights, what are your priorities for delivering the rest of the Thriving Communities Fund? 

I think there has to be a focus on legacy and sustainability, especially around social prescribing schemes being fully embedded and integrated within local health and social care models. I also think we have to be pragmatic that the fund has a specific lifespan itself, so there may need to be more testing, learning and developing to understand the needs of local groups and participants. We hope that by supporting projects to develop community partnerships there will be longevity to the impact.  

From the start we were clear that we wanted this to be a fund for communities, by communities, and feedback has been that coproduction and consultation is essential. The opportunity to learn from one another has also been highlighted, and our wider Thriving Communities Programme (which includes webinars, a network and learning programme) helps to achieve that. 

5. And any learnings so far that have particularly stood out for you?

I think there are a couple of points; firstly that for some projects and community groups, the term “social prescribing” isn’t their go-to label and that in fact, participants on a hyper-local level are motivated by wanting to get out of their home, meet people and connect with others. So there is something there for me around “clinical” language and vernacular language. Many people have been delivering social prescribing for a long time – they just haven’t called it that.  

Secondly, I think we have to note the positive progress that has been made within the context of of Covid-19, which of course would have had both direct and indirect impact on projects, participants and local partners. We and they have had to be flexible in our approach, responding to local and national pressures and changes. The environment hasn’t been easy at all but there have been some real successes in this ground-breaking programme which must be celebrated.