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Our approach to working with people and communities

We believe that working in partnership with people and communities as part of our work is important to:  

  • ensure we hear from people who need and are using health and care services, to inform our understanding of the issues they are facing and their experience of care 

  • help to ensure our work resonates with the issues people feel are important in health and care  

  • model the values that we encourage in the health and care system.

We do this through:   

  • involving people in the process of our work

  • using our skills and platform to amplify under-represented voices and issues

  • supporting organisations to listen and hear from people and communities

Examples of this work

  • Towards a new partnership between disabled people and health and care services: getting our voices heard

    This long read explores what partnership working between disabled people and the health and care system looks like, and how it could improve.

  • Open wounds online exhibition

    Open wounds

    Find out about Open Wounds, an online exhibition from The King’s Fund. Curated by Tottenham Rights, this exhibition explores the impact of systemic racism in the health and care system o...

  • Understanding integration: how to listen to and learn from people and communities 

    Lived experience is a powerful tool to improve existing services and identify new and better ways to meet people’s needs. This practical guide will help systems to co-ordinate services a...

Working with and through organisations 

The King’s Fund is involved in delivering a number of different activities. As a result, our approach to involving people and communities is tailored to each activity. We mainly work with and through other organisations to involve people and communities in our work. This includes:  

  • working with local organisations, or organisations with relevant expertise or focus, to identify or facilitate access to people who would like to be involved   

  • considering the lived experience of speakers as part of the events programme, encouraging organisations to co-present with people with lived experience, and supporting people who have previously participated in our work to chair or contribute to the design and content of conference sessions 

  • building collaborative relationships with those wishing to support the health and wellbeing of their communities and local health and care systems. We work with statutory and voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) health and care leaders, their teams and organisations. What unites the focus of our work in this area is people’s lived experience of their community's health and care needs, the presence and impact of health inequalities, and our use of co-designed and produced interventions to support leaders, organisations and communities on the ground. 

Getting involved as an individual 

The King’s Fund undertakes a wide range of health and care research; as a result, we do not maintain a register of interest or advertise opportunities on our website. For specific projects we may advertise opportunities through People in Research and through our partnership with Involvement@York.  

We also offer a number of free bursary places for each of our conferences, which members of the public can apply for. These places aim to ensure that there are a range of voices in the room and an opportunity to share knowledge more widely. Information on how to apply is available in our events frequently asked questions.