Shared commitments
Our Vision: Doing things differently
The South East London VCSE Charter sets out our shared commitments to partnership and innovation between the VCSE sector and the Integrated Care System (ICS) in south east London.
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Partnering for a stronger south east London
What is the Strategic Alliance?
The SEL VCSE Strategic Alliance is a collaborative of representatives from Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) organisations across south east London, working together to bring the leadership, experience and expertise of our sector into the heart of the health and care system. We are working in partnership with the South East London Integrated Care Board (ICB) and key decision makers, to reshape how health and care is designed, commissioned, and delivered across our communities. Our mission is to enable a thriving, happy and well south east London by working together to create an equitable healthcare system.
Together with diverse partners from across our sector, we are driving a major shift within the healthcare system - bringing services and support closer to where people are at, strengthening prevention and health creation and tackling the wider social, economic, and environmental factors that shape people’s health and wellbeing. This work is happening at national, system, borough and neighbourhood levels, through building sustainable cross-sector strategic relationships, leveraging greater decision-making powers for our sector and delivering ground-breaking work through a range of partnerships.
Driving collaboration
Important news
for south east London's VCSE sector
Funding Opportunity
South East London Palliative and End of Life Care (SEL PEoLC)
Working with healthcare systems
Funding Opportunity
South East London Community Blood Pressure Screening
Community groups across south east London can apply for grants of around £3,500 to work in partnership with GP practices, PCNs or pharmacy teams to deliver community-based blood pressure screening and health education. Using a newly developed community hypertension resource, successful projects will help improve early detection of high blood pressure, reduce cardiovascular health inequalities, and test innovative approaches to prevention in underserved communities.
Working with healthcare systems
Featured
Resource
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The NHS 10 Year Health Plan
The NHS 10 Year Health Plan sets the long‑term direction for a shift towards prevention, neighbourhood health and stronger community partnership. The SEL VCSE Strategic Alliance works with the SEL ICB to help turn this ambition into reality locally, while advocating and constructively challenging on behalf of the VCSE sector to ensure community capacity is recognised, resourced and embedded.
Neighbourhood Health
National guidance
Working with healthcare systems
Resource
Setting the next steps for neighbourhood health
A new report from PPL, produced with the NHS Alliance, sets out how neighbourhood health can move from ambition to practical delivery across England. We strongly welcome its clear recognition of the VCSE sector as a central partner in leadership, coordination and delivery – and its calls for meaningful partnership, equitable data sharing and multi‑year funding.
Neighbourhood Health
Funding Opportunity
Creative Health in Southwark
Up to £18,000 of funding is available for Southwark‑based arts and culture organisations to deliver Creative Health activity addressing local health priorities.
Creative Health
Funding Opportunity
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Lambeth VCSE Partnership Awards
Funding for VCSE organisations in Lambeth to deliver inclusive, culturally relevant activities that promote mental health, wellbeing, and community connection.
Mental health and wellbeing
Creating change together
Current collaborations and projects
Capacity-building and enhanced grants programme
Access to NHS spaces
Strategic VCSE leadership in NHS Trusts
Strengthening the hyper-local VCSE ecosystem
Supporting grassroots VCSE organisations to grow, sustain and lead community‑led prevention and health creation.
Opening doors for VCSE organisations
We have been working in partnership with SEL ICB to make better use of NHS buildings as spaces that benefit local people. Our aim is to help micro, grassroots and by-and-for VCSE organisations access these spaces for free to deliver activities and support in the heart of their communities. By making better use of NHS estates, we can ensure local organisations have the room they need to provide vital, culturally responsive services and help tackle health inequalities across south east London.
VCSE voices shaping NHS systems from within
We’re embedding senior VCSE leaders within south east London NHS trusts, bringing community insight into the heart of organisational decision-making, strategy development, and service design - strengthening collaboration between the NHS and the VCSE sector and supporting more equitable, community-informed health outcomes.
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Join our growing community of VCSE organisations and statutory partners to hear about the latest resources, events, training and opportunities to get involved in strategic collaboration to drive change.
"By partnering with the VCSE sector, we are not only amplifying their vital contributions but also fostering innovation and inclusivity within our health system."
Andrew Bland
Chief Executive Officer South East London Integrated Care Board
"I’m really excited to be working in collaboration with dedicated VCSE leaders, other CVSs and statutory partners to strengthen health and care in a way that truly serves our communities, together we’re building up the support and resources our communities need. It’s inspiring to see what we can accomplish together when there is a shared commitment and vision, and I look forward to seeing what we continue to build to better serve and connect with people who rely on us."
Jattinder Rai
Chief Executive Officer Bexley Voluntary Service Council
Care and support closer to home
Neighbourhood health in south east London
Neighbourhood health is now a central focus for the Government, NHS and local partners, aiming to shift care towards prevention, early support and joined‑up working close to home. Across south east London, VCSE organisations have long worked in neighbourhood‑based, community‑led ways - supporting people before needs escalate and addressing the wider factors that shape health. The neighbourhood health ambition cannot be achieved without the leadership of the VCSE sector.
Our Neighbourhood Health page explains what this shift means in practice, and the role the SEL VCSE Strategic Alliance is playing within it. We are working with the ICB, Local Authorities and Government departments to advocate to shape the strategic and operational role of the VCSE sector within this huge reform.