Asset Based Approaches to Health, Care and Wellbeing Development of a theory of change to support adoption and action

Contact: Simon Rippon, Director of Aligned Consultancy

There is good evidence and a strong theoretical base around the psycho-social determinants of health that are addressed and strengthened through asset-based approaches.

Currently there is a drive to explore the practical issues of asset based community approaches for health and wellbeing, however there is a lack of evidence around the implementation of asset-based approaches into mainstream health, care and prevention programmes and what outcomes can be expected.

This work seeks to develop a Theory of Change (ToC) which would help make the connection between theory, evidence, implementation and evaluation in a way that has high relevance to the UK.

The project aims develop a consensus view on the key building blocks required for a ToC, which local commissioners and those involved in community approaches could adopt in asset based community projects.

The issues that the research aims to explore and add insight to are emergent and at the early stages of adoption into organisational and community systems in the UK, certainly at scale across geography's and with diverse system actors. The work will develop a framework for organising the adoption and scaling of community and asset based approaches that reflect the diverse constituencies involved – the organising frame being a ToC.

The project will use action research methods to frame the investigation and utilise dialogue methods in the methodology which focus on building perspective, insight and consensus on key areas. This will in turn inform current and future practitioners and adopters of asset based and community approaches for health and wellbeing.