Realising the Value Realising the Value aimed to strengthen the case for change, identify evidence-based approaches that engage people in their own health and care, and develop tools that support implementation across the NHS and local communities

A programme funded by NHS England and led by Nesta and the Health Foundation, working in partnership with Voluntary Voices, the Institute of Health and Society at Newcastle University and the Behavioural Insights Team.
Worked with five local sites and wider networks of interest to develop and test tools, as well as resources to support their implementation.
The final outputs of the programme were published in autumn 2016.

We collected evidence on what good person and community-centred care looks like and its potentially wide-reaching benefits, such as better mental and physical health, cost savings and wider social value, such as strong community ties.

The Realising the Value programme aimed to strengthen the case for change, identify evidence-based approaches that engage people in their own health and care, and develop tools that support implementation across the NHS and local communities.

The three stages of the programme

Assessing the potential for impact of person and community-centred approaches by reviewing existing formal and informal evidence. We also sought to understand the perspectives of people who use services, commissioners, providers and practitioners.
We then focused on five approaches with potential for large impact, based on the evidence base. These approaches were: peer support, self-management education, health coaching, groups activities to support health and wellbeing, and asset-based approaches in a health and wellbeing context.

We worked directly with five local sites and wider networks of interest to develop and test tools and resources to support their implementation, taking account of what currently stops high potential interventions being commissioned further and used.

The aim was to create and refine a set of tools and resources that can equip the health and care system to take up high impact person-centred care practice at scale – for example, by developing tools and training to support practitioners and organisations to introduce new ways of working.
In the third stage, we brought the learning together in a final set of resources and recommendations that aimed to impact real change at scale. This included an analysis of the policies, system incentives and behaviours that need to change for person and community-centred approaches to play a role at scale in the health and care system.

The final outputs of the programme were published in autumn 2016.