As the UK faces rising long-term conditions, widening health inequalities, and increasing pressure on finite health budgets, the case for new models of care has never been stronger. Traditional systems were not built to manage today’s scale and complexity of disease. We urgently need clinically effective, cost-effective programmes delivered where people live, work, learn, and play.
For years, the World Health Innovation Summit (WHIS) has championed community-based solutions that improve health outcomes while strengthening local economies. Today, new financial models and a stronger evidence base mean this approach is not only viable—it is essential.
Evidence-Based Community Health
Recent joint analysis by the G**lobal Social Prescribing Alliance (GSPA) and the University of Exeter, alongside Good Boost’s expanding clinical evidence**, provides a powerful foundation for reimagining community assets as evidence-based health and wellbeing hubs.
The evidence shows:
- Community spaces can deliver programmes that improve clinical outcomes.
- Social prescribing reduces pressure on frontline services and improves quality of life.
- Technology-enabled, community-delivered interventions like Good Boost support musculoskeletal health, mental wellbeing, physical activity, and healthy ageing at scale. Together, these approaches represent a scalable pathway to prevention. Local, personalised, community-delivered support is both clinically effective and financially responsible.
A New Era for the Impact Economy
The UK Government’s creation of the Office for the Impact Economy, under Rt Hon Darren Jones MP and Emily Braid, marks a major shift. For the first time, there is a clear “front door” for partnerships between:
- Government
- Purpose-driven businesses
- Impact investors
- Community organisations This framework recognises that delivering better health and wellbeing is not solely the NHS’s responsibility. It requires a whole-of-society approach supported by sustainable financing, shared accountability, and cross-sector collaboration.
“We have the evidence, the partnerships, and the community infrastructure to transform prevention in the UK. The launch of the Office for the Impact Economy is a watershed moment — it creates the policy environment we need to scale programmes that improve health, strengthen communities, and deliver measurable economic value. With the right investment, we can turn every community space into a hub for health creation.” — Gareth Presch, CEO, Founder, WHIS
WHIS: Delivering National Impact
Over the past decade, WHIS has built an ecosystem of innovators, community leaders, clinicians, and partners committed to transforming health through prevention, empowerment, and collaboration. Key programmes include:
- WHISKids – supporting children’s wellbeing
- WHISAtWork – improving workplace health
- WHISSeniors – enabling healthy ageing
- Healthy Ageing Clinics – driving precision prevention
- Community innovation hubs – turning local assets into health creation centres
In the past year, WHIS and GSPA have launched national social prescribing groups to accelerate learning, coordination, and implementation across the UK. These networks bring together leaders from health, local government, community organisations, and businesses to ensure evidence-based models are delivered consistently and at scale.
The Financial Imperative
Prevention is no longer simply a public health ambition—it is a financial necessity. Models that blend:
- Public funding
- Impact investment
- Health system savings
- Business engagement
- Community contribution …create sustainable pathways for scaling community-led health programmes. These approaches reduce NHS demand, increase productivity, and build resilient local economies—all while improving health outcomes. The evidence is clear: the most effective place to improve health is in the community, long before someone ever reaches a hospital door.
A Call to Action for Investors and Partners
The UK stands at the threshold of a new era of health innovation. WHIS, GSPA, and partners are ready to scale impact-driven, prevention-focused, community-led health programmes.
We invite impact investors, philanthropic partners, and purpose-driven businesses to collaborate with us. Together, we can turn evidence into action and deliver measurable outcomes for people, communities, and the economy.
The impact economy is here—and health must be at its heart.