A new funding programme for England with a focus on improving the health and wellbeing of communities in areas experiencing the most disadvantage is expected to open in Spring 2020.

Working in partnership with the National Lottery Community Fund, which is providing the funding, the King’s Fund has announced plans to launch a new £3 million funding programme to support local areas to improve their communities’ health and wellbeing.

The new funding programme is part of the King’s Fund new strategy for 2020-24 which ‘signals a renewed emphasis on collaborating with partners, including the voluntary and community sector’.

According to the King’s Fund, the new Healthy Communities Together fund will:

• Open for applications in Spring 2020. They anticipate it will run for four years.
• Be open to partnerships of voluntary sector and health and care organisations working in a local area, such as a town or city. 
• Specifically target areas that experience the most disadvantage.
• Support up to six local areas for up to four years, helping to develop more effective partnerships between voluntary and community sector (VCS) organisations and the NHS and local authorities in their area.
• Provide ‘substantial’ grant funding to build capacity and enable areas to invest in new approaches and new ways of working in partnership.
• Provide bespoke support to each area, such as facilitating work across the local health system, providing evidence of how best to integrate care and support in a place, and challenging organisations to think differently. The King’s Fund will also distil learning from the areas taking part and share it more widely.

Groups that would like further information about the funding programme as it becomes available can submit their details on the King’s Fund website.