Donna McLaughlin, Non-Executive Director at The Health Creation Alliance, outlined the organisation's aims and emphasised the importance of understanding and cultivating health creation within communities. Health creation is a process that empowers individuals and communities by fostering a sense of purpose, hope and control. This, in turn, leads to improved health and wellbeing.

McLaughlin outlined six key features of effective relationships and practices when working with communities:

1. Strengths-focus: Emphasising the strengths and capabilities within communities.
2. Self-organising: Encouraging communities to take initiative and organise themselves.
3. Power-shifting and sharing: Distributing power to ensure equal involvement and decision-making.
4. Reciprocity: Promoting mutual benefit and exchange.
5. Listening & responding: Actively listening to community needs and responding appropriately.
6. Truth-telling: Maintaining transparency and honesty in all interactions.

By integrating these principles, communities can experience a deeper sense of health, wellbeing, and empowerment.

From a policy perspective, Michael Wood, Head of Health Economic Partnerships at NHS Confederation, highlighted an important shift in the way public sector organisations, particularly in healthcare, should approach their role in society. He discussed the necessity for these organisations to not only focus on their immediate outputs but also to be explicit about the wider economic and social benefits they deliver. He outlined an approach to discussions focusing on considering issues with a 'social value mindset' and the type of solutions that this could prompt. He then detailed the key areas where health systems have an opportunity to deliver transformational change.

MIAA Associate, Becky Jones, provided a case study on delivering social value across an entire ICS region. She described how the ICS team is working with the VCSE sector to help to define the needs of the population at local levels across the region. This work began in 2018 with research that led to the creation of the Cheshire & Merseyside Social Value Charter.

The team collaborated with the Social Value Portal to establish a baseline and create a system-wide set of social value themes, outcomes, and measures (TOMs), which evolved into an Anchor Framework. This framework enables the full quantification of social value delivered by institutions across Cheshire and Merseyside, with nearly £100M in social value already achieved. Discussions with colleagues from the VCSE sector led to the creation of a joint report, Towards a Social Value Economy, which explores how social value and social impact in the VCSE sector differ from other areas.

The next phase involved co-developing the Anchor Framework through the Cheshire and Merseyside Anchor Institution Charter Principles This framework brings together organisations from all sectors, with each signing up to agree on the principles and priorities. The result is a structured approach that allows the team to quantify and showcase the tangible benefits delivered to local communities.

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