Devon Community Assets Research Collaborative - developing, understanding and linking within integrated care systems

We know that health disparities vary by geography, that community assets have been proposed as one way to approach health inequalities, and distribution of these assets varies by place. It is also not well understood how formal public organisations can best link with community assets for health, which is particularly important as new organisations form in England. Our proposal brings together academics, three public health teams, primary care networks, Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE), residents and other stakeholders to better understand how we identify, value and support community assets in delivering health and social care in Devon Integrated Care System (ICS), we propose an integrated model of developing community-based approaches to mapping/data linkage and understanding the needs of that locality.

We aim to build a research-in-practice consortium with the capability to carry out research to identify and map diverse community assets, understand the conditions which created these assets and develop approaches to more fully integrate such groups and activities into Devon ICS to address health disparities.

We will work with three distinct localities, each made of a cluster of Primary Care Networks within Devon ICS. These areas have significant deprivation and represent distinct coastal typologies: Central Plymouth; Paignton; and South Brent. Whilst diverse and multi-method approaches will be employed, our proposal adopts a realist informed approach and we will develop an overarching programme theory for how community assets can contribute to addressing health disparities.

We propose three workstreams (WSs). WS1 will build the collaboration, and undertake activities to build trusting relationships, embed researchers within localities and organisations and prepare the ground for work to be undertaken in later stages. Work in WS2 will explore novel ways of mapping groups, people and places where community assets are developed and sustained. We will test methodologies for the identification of population subgroups who would benefit from preventive interventions. WS3 will bring together the insights and intelligence gathered in WS1 and WS2, as well as the literature, and seek to develop theoretical models of both 'currently feasible' (based on current technology and modest investment) as well as 'future oriented' (10 years on) asset hubs. We will examine innovative ways of assessing the value of such assets, their support and mechanisms of linkage.

Overall, these activities will create a learning partnership (consortium) between residents, community partners, VCSE, ICS practitioners and researchers, in three localities, which can identify local community assets; develop and evaluate innovative ways of bringing together community health and social care in each locality; and contribute to the evidence base as to how inequalities can be mitigated or addressed. We will work closely with a steering group of local VCSE and ICS leaders and agree how the consortium will both be part of local asset hubs and link to ICS wide commissioning, public health and intelligence functions.