What happens when we put community voice, system leadership, and a 10-year NHS roadmap together?

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Something far more ambitious, grounded—and hopeful.

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The NHS 10-Year Plan has sparked deep thinking across the VCSE sector. It paints a bold picture—but it’s VCSE infrastructure, insight, and lived experience that will make it real.

In south east London, we’ve been showing what’s possible. Our VCSE Strategic Alliance, working closely with CVSs and infrastructure partners, has helped to:

🔹 Embed VCSE leadership in ICS governance
🔹 Centre grassroots and ‘by and for’ expertise in system design
🔹 Bring lived experience into commissioning, prevention, and place-based care
🔹 Shift power and resources into communities, where real change happens

But this is bigger than south east London.

Through ALLiance42—the national network of all 42 ICS-VCSE alliances—we’ve joined forces to make the case for strategic investment in the sector. Together, we’ve shaped a unified response to the Plan that’s rooted in what we know works: trust, equity, and long-term partnership.

The message is clear: transformation won’t stick unless the VCSE sector is seen, supported, and at the table from the start—not as an afterthought, but as a partner in system leadership.

From convening communities to bridging divides, the VCSE sector isn’t a side player. It’s the connective tissue in our health and care systems.

Imagine what we could do with sustained backing to lead this work.

Gratitude to our colleagues in SEL and across the country who are making space for community-led change—including Andrew Bland and Richard Douglas at South East London Integrated Care Board, and all the incredible VCSE leaders holding the line and building something better.

Let’s keep moving forward, together.

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