Wales

Building Community Capacity in Wales

Update for Participants Following the March 2026 Workshop

July 2026

Dear Colleagues,

Thank you for participating in the Building Community Capacity in Wales workshop hosted by Public Health Wales (PHW) and Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales (LBF) in March 2026. The energy, insight and commitment in the room demonstrated the strength of the coalition that exists across Wales to support stronger, healthier and more empowered communities.

Since the workshop, Public Health Wales, Lloyds Bank Foundation, WCVA and Welsh Government have each taken important steps to strengthen partnerships, develop policy, secure investment and align priorities around prevention, health equity and community-led change. We have been laying the groundwork for our work on long-term action on community capacity in Wales.

New partnerships are in place, opportunities for investment are emerging, and there is growing alignment around a shared ambition to strengthen community leadership, resilience and wellbeing across Wales.

The next phase is to build on this momentum. We want to continue the conversations that began in March, deepen collaboration with those who expressed an interest in this agenda, and work together to develop practical place-based activity that delivers lasting benefits for communities across Wales.

We look forward to continuing this work with you and to shaping the next phase together.

Summary

Since the March 2026 workshop:

  • Lloyds Bank Foundation has launched a new strategy with a strengthened commitment to Wales and is testing a community-led systems change model.
  • Public Health Wales has embedded community capacity more firmly within its prevention and health equity agenda, secured an £8 million all-Wales obesity innovation investment that creates opportunities to strengthen community support and participation, and established a strategic partnership with WCVA.
  • Welsh Government has advanced work on community empowerment, community assets and future investment approaches.

Together, these developments have created stronger alignment between community development, prevention and health equity than existed six months ago.

The next phase is to build on this momentum by continuing the conversations started in March, developing practical place-based activity, and working with interested partners to turn shared ambition into action. We want to bring people back together again to progress this.

What we have done since the workshop

Lloyds Bank Foundation

  • Launched a new strategy with a significantly strengthened commitment to Wales. Our strategy
  • Appointed a dedicated Head of Community-led Change for Wales to bolster the existing team in Wales
  • Begun testing a community-led systems change model focused on building local capacity and leadership.
  • Developed the Good Place Index, which identifies communities experiencing the greatest challenges through measures of wellbeing, resilience, opportunities, agency and trusted connection and rather than deprivation alone. o Read more about this here Who is furthest from being In a Good Place?

o The tool will become publicly available later in the year

  • Started identifying potential places in Wales where this approach can be tested and refined.

Public Health Wales

  • Continued support for the six Marmot areas in Wales, including facilitating learning between Wales, England and Scotland.
  • Supported Public Services Boards through systems leadership and systems working programmes to strengthen local action on health and wellbeing.
  • Continued to embed co-production and community-centred approaches across prevention and wellbeing work.
  • Public Health Wales has secured and is leading delivery of an £8 million All Wales innovation investment focused on obesity and weight management, involving every health board in Wales. Importantly, this is not solely a clinical programme; it provides a significant opportunity to test how stronger community networks, peer support, volunteering, physical activity, social connection and local community assets can improve long-term health outcomes and support people to live healthier lives.
  • Signed a new strategic partnership agreement with WCVA, creating a practical mechanism for working with voluntary and community organisations at scale across Wales.
  • Agreed to put capacity into partnership working with WCVA and Sport Wales to increase volunteering in communities.

Welsh Government

  • Developed proposals for Ministers on community empowerment, community capacity and cohesive communities, with a particular focus on how communities can build and sustain local leadership, assets and resilience.
  • Advanced Community Right to Buy policy, while also exploring the practical support communities need to acquire, manage and grow community assets successfully.
  • Developed options for future investment in community capacity, including philanthropy, community wealth building, matched funding, endowment models and other long-term financing approaches.
  • Brought together community development, prevention and health equity agendas, creating stronger alignment between community policy, Public Health Wales' prevention work and Lloyds Bank Foundation's place-based approach.

Three important developments have converged:

  • Lloyds Bank Foundation has committed to a long-term community-led approach.
  • Public Health Wales has strengthened its focus on health equity, prevention and community capacity.
  • Welsh Government is developing policies that support community leadership and community assets.

Together, these developments create a stronger platform for practical action than existed six months ago.

What we will do next

Our immediate priority is to continue the conversations started in March and work with those who expressed interest in taking this agenda forward.

Over the coming months we will:

  • Re-engage participants from the March workshop and build an active network around community capacity-building in Wales.
  • Continue joint work between Public Health Wales, Welsh Government, WCVA and Lloyds Bank Foundation.
  • Identify potential place-based test sites where local leadership, community organisations and public bodies are ready to work together.
  • Develop a practical roadmap with clear actions and milestones.
  • Connect the PHW-WCVA partnership to wider community capacity activity.
  • Explore opportunities to attract and align public, philanthropic and community investment.
  • Share learning and evidence on what works in building community capacity and improving health outcomes.

What is most encouraging is that we are no longer starting from scratch. Since March, new partnerships have been established, some investment has been secured, new policy opportunities have emerged, and a growing coalition of organisations is working towards a shared goal.

We now have stronger relationships, greater alignment and clearer opportunities than we did six months ago. The task ahead is to build on that momentum, continue the conversations begun in March, and work together to turn shared ambition into practical action that strengthens communities, improves health and wellbeing, and creates lasting change across Wales.

We look forward to discussing and shaping what we all do next, together with you.

Friday reflections on…words into actions
I'm returning from Cardiff after an uplifting 'Building Community Capacity Building in Wales' workshop which Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales hosted alongside Public Health Wales. The origin of today was a conversation I had with Wales Director for Health & Wellbeing Prof Jim M. at a University of Hertfordshire Honorary Degree dinner a year ago. We shared a passion for neighbourhood health that could only be achieved if funding flowed into communities. Today's meeting followed that up with action: to co-produce a programme with leaders working across health, government & voluntary sectors. Watch this space.
Converting words into action was the theme of a great Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales Board meeting & energised Leadership Team day as we prepare for our strategy launch.
The 3rd meeting of the Charity Advisory Board for The Gradel Institute of Charity at New College, Oxford showed real progress with thought provoking research on volunteering, AI & a really interesting development of a non profit ethics lab. All good stuff followed by a particularly stimulating meeting with Alexander Betts Edward Brooks at Brasenose College, University of Oxford.
Meanwhile I've been following reflections on the impact economy - whether the term is appropriate & whether definitions are precise enough. This is partly prompted by the creation of Government's Office of the Impact Economy & a recent report produced by NPC (New Philanthropy Capital).
Here's my take:
- the work of NPC & others has been valuable in releasing new energy to unlock more philanthropy, capital, social investment & blended finance solutions
- The Office of the Impact Economy is hugely welcome & presents a big opportunity
- Definitions matter (eg people use the voluntary sector & civil society interchangeably - they are different). I therefore understand why what constitutes the impact economy is contested. Peter Holbrook CBE has been particularly strong on this, highlighting fundamental differences of ownership/ regulated models in the recent report. https://lnkd.in/g_WnwBHx
- This week Andrew Purkis wrote a typically erudite piece saying the term should be 'retired' https://lnkd.in/gHbVScbW. I'm not in that space. There is momentum on an important agenda where concerted efforts can release much needed investment at scale (+ impact)
- That said, jargon/ opaque language inhibit progress. We need to be crystal clear about what we're talking about in different contexts.
- Finally, social investment is important but can only get us so far. Many social impact organisations are still going to require old fashioned grants & inclusive commissioning.
What matters most is the actions that follow the words - is more philanthropy unlocked, is there greater social investment & is a better use of capital leading to better social outcomes? That is the prize.