Addressing health inequalities through engagement with people and communities

Summary

Identify all stakeholders who may influence or be affected by the project, including system partners, VCSE organisations, and people and communities – particularly those most at risk of health inequalities.

Link to health inequalities

Identifying key stakeholders ensures that efforts focus on those most affected by health inequalities. Best practice enables targeted, inclusive engagement informed by robust evidence and lived experience. This builds trust, ensures accountability, and empowers communities to contribute meaningfully, reducing disparities and improving outcomes for under-served populations and people with protected characteristics.

Activities, skills and resources

Emerging

• Identify all individuals, groups, and communities who may influence or be affected by a specific project or workstream (’the stakeholders’).
• Make initial contact with stakeholders to share details about upcoming work.
• Gather preliminary insights from stakeholders to inform planning.

Developing

• Collect data on stakeholder needs and priorities using existing sources such as Joint Strategic Needs Assessments (JSNAs) and population health data.
• Perform a gap analysis to identify missing or incomplete stakeholder data.
• Set up processes to regularly review and update stakeholder data to ensure accuracy and relevance.
• Highlight and document groups or communities currently experiencing health inequalities.

Maturing

• Engage directly with stakeholders to understand their needs and priorities.
• Identify and map community assets, such as strengths, skills, and resources that can be leveraged to support a given project or workstream.
• Share feedback from engagement with relevant teams to ensure alignment with stakeholders' needs and priorities.
• Clearly communicate to stakeholders how their engagement at this stage informs the design and delivery of a given project or workstream.

Thriving

• Foster an organisational culture that values community co-ownership of projects, supported by leaders who advocate for and prioritise meaningful community collaboration.
• Implement structured processes to routinely work with communities in identifying and prioritising needs, such as co-design workshops or collaborative problem-solving sessions.
• Establish long-term partnerships with community members and leaders, involving them in regular planning and decision-making activities.
• Work collaboratively with community representatives to analyse data and findings, ensuring they have a voice in interpreting insights and setting priorities.
• Establish mechanisms for ongoing feedback from communities, allowing the project to adapt and improve based on shared insights and evolving needs.