Since 2022 the Wales Centre for Public Policy and the Resourceful Communities Partnership (RCP) – a national forum for public and third sector organisations that support and develop community resourcefulness and community wellbeing – have been working on projects to better understand the role of multisectoral collaboration in supporting community action that enhances wellbeing.
An evidence review on multisector collaboration to improve community wellbeing
WCPP’s first project with the RCP involved two phases of research:
- An evidence review on how multisector collaboration influences community action and wellbeing. The review included practice-based case studies, UK-based grey literature, and academic literature published since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
- A workshop with key stakeholders across Wales to engage with key findings from the evidence review, explore their relevance to different practice and policy contexts, and incorporate practice-based experience and expertise into the evidence base.
We published several key outputs from this research project:
- Main report: ‘Multisector collaboration to improve community wellbeing’ drawing together the findings from both the evidence review and the workshop with key stakeholders across Wales.
- Summary of pre-pandemic evidence: an accompanying review conducted by Leeds Beckett University was published to situate the findings of the main report within wider evidence on what makes multisectoral collaboration effective in supporting community action and wellbeing.
- A Framework for Action: a resource developed as a starting point for identifying tangible actions for strengthening or establishing multisector collaborations in different contexts.
Developing a tool or resource to enable multisector collaboration
In the next phase of WCPP’s work on community wellbeing as part of the RCP, we are collaboratively commissioning the development of a tool, or resource, that enables users to build, improve, or sustain multisectoral collaborations. This tool/resource will build on our previous research project and Framework for Action.
WCPP and the RCP are taking a co-productive approach to this work. From December 2024 to April 2025, WCPP held a series of 90-minute design workshops with stakeholders – including potential end-users – that tested and confirmed demand for this work, identified key insights to inform our commission, and helped us to create a Steering Group to collaboratively steward the remaining phases of work. Alongside these workshops, the team conducted a desk review of existing tools and resources and held interviews to help shape the tool/resource.
As of May 2025, we have moved into a co-commissioning process to identify a suitable partner to prototype, test, and deliver this tool/resource with WCPP, our project Steering Group, the RCP, and wider stakeholders.
If you’d like to get involved or learn more, contact us via info@wcpp.org.uk