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
NEW Opportunity: VCSE Strategic Lead
King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has listened to its patients, carers, communities and the public, and this insight has helped shape its published Trust Strategy 2026–2031. The Trust is now seeking a proactive, partnership-driven VCSE Strategic Lead to help deliver this Strategy and strengthen how King’s works with the VCSE sector and local communities.
Featured
Working with healthcare systems
NHS Patient Entrepreneur Programme
The NHS Patient Entrepreneur Programme is opening applications for Cohort 4. Patients, service users and carers with healthcare innovations can access a free 12-month programme of learning, mentoring and development. Applications open 19th October 2026.
Working with healthcare systems
Training
Funding Opportunity: Pathways to Work Innovation Fund
The DWP's Pathways to Work Innovation Fund is now open for applications. Funding is available for projects supporting disabled people and people with long-term health conditions into and within employment. Applications close 26th October 2026.
Funding Opportunities
Opportunity: Independent Chair
Independent Chair opportunity for the Neighbourhood and Wellbeing Delivery Alliance in Lambeth. Support partnership working, neighbourhood health and action on health inequalities. Applications close 14th October 2026.
Neighbourhood Health
Unlocking neighbourhood data
Access to meaningful data is essential if VCSE organisations are to shape services, influence decisions and address health inequalities. Developed by PPL in partnership with all London ICBs and VCSE Alliances, the London Neighbourhood Explorer provides free access to neighbourhood-level data for the first time.
Research and data
London Neighbourhood Health modelling
An overview of London’s approach to Neighbourhood Health, outlining why change is needed and how a more joined-up, community-based model of care and prevention will be delivered across the system.
Neighbourhood Health
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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
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
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ALLiance42 joint response
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.
National guidance
VCSE innovations
Working with healthcare systems
Featured
Let’s talk health and care in south east London
A platform for voluntary sector organisations to engage in various health-related projects, participate in community discussions, and collaborate on improving local health and care services.
Working with healthcare systems
Funding Opportunity: London Communities Micro Grant Fund
Grants of up to £5,000 are available through the Thrive LDN London Communities Micro Grant Fund to support grassroots organisations already strengthening wellbeing, resilience and belonging in communities across London. Applications are particularly encouraged from organisations working with marginalised and underserved communities.
Funding Opportunities
Health Creation
Creative Health and Cancer Pilot
South East London Cancer Alliance (SELCA) is seeking Creative Health partners to deliver community-based support for people living with and beyond cancer. Funding is available for organisations with strong community links and experience delivering creative health, wellbeing or community-based programmes. Applications close on 15 August 2026.
Creative Health
Working with healthcare systems
VCSE innovations
South East London Palliative and End of Life Care (SEL PEoLC)
The South East London Palliative and End of Life Care (PEoLC) Programme is looking for a VCSE organisation, or consortium of organisations, to lead engagement with patients, carers and bereaved families across south east London. With funding of up to £20,000 available, this project will gather lived experiences, identify barriers and inequalities in care, and help shape future improvements to palliative and end of life services. Organisations with strong links to underserved communities and experience in engagement and insight gathering are particularly encouraged to apply.
Working with healthcare systems
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
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
VCSE Inreach Project
South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM) have announced new funding for local grassroots voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations (VCSEs), to deliver evening and weekend activities on their acute adult mental health inpatient wards in Croydon and Lewisham.
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Delivery partner – maternal and mental health services
We're seeking a delivery partner who can ensure that local initiatives lead by grant-holders across the maternal and health programmes are delivered to a high-quality with tangible benefits to local communities.
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Evaluation partner – maternal and mental health services
We're seeking an evaluation partner to support the sustainability of new models of care, aimed at addressing health inequalities across maternal and mental health services.
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Call for lived experience consultants
The Black Maternal Health Programme are looking to recruit a number of lived experience consultants to support the newly launched grant making process through which they will allocate £1.5m of funding for projects running up to 3-years. The is a paid opportunity.
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Black Maternal Health Fund
As part of their Black Maternal Health Programme, Impact on Urban Health and NHS South East London have this week launched up to £1.5m of funding for multiyear grants of up to 3-years that will fund projects seeking to improve experiences and outcomes for Black mothers, birthing people, and their babies.
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VCSE Strategic Leadership opportunity
We’re seeking a visionary VCSE leader (based in Bexley, Bromley or Greenwich) to be embedded within Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust as their VCSE Strategic Lead.
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NEW leadership opportunity - Neighbourhood Health (Lambeth and Southwark)
We’re seeking an experienced and partnership-driven VCSE Strategic Lead to play a key role in building a new model of neighbourhood health across Lambeth and Southwark. Working alongside the Integrator leadership team at GSTT, you’ll help lead the development of Lambeth and Southwark’s Integrator function - a key element of the neighbourhood health model. The Integrator function brings organisations together to design and deliver joined-up, preventative, and community-rooted care.
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Making Black mums visible
The Motherhood Group, in partnership with Impact on Urban Health and the South East London ICB, is working to address systemic inequalities faced by Black mothers through culturally tailored support, advocacy, and evidence-based service design. Their initiatives - including the Blackmums app, psychotherapy programmes, and national campaigns - aim to make Black mothers visible in data, policy, and practice, driving lasting change across the maternity system.
Working with healthcare systems
Mental health and wellbeing
VCSE innovations
Standing firm in power and pride
Black History Month 2025 invites us to do more than reflect - it calls us to stand firm. In south east London, this theme is not a metaphor. It’s a lived reality. From the elders who marched through Lewisham in ’77 to the young leaders reshaping commissioning frameworks today, this region is a testament to Black legacy in motion.
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The Digital Future of the Charity Sector
Digital technology is reshaping the way charities and community groups connect, deliver services, and demonstrate impact.
Digital solutions
VCSE strategic leadership opportunity
South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, in partnership with the South East London VCSE Strategic Alliance, is offering two new leadership roles for VCSE sector professionals, focused on Adult Mental Health and Children and Young People’s Mental Health. Funded by the South East London Integrated Care Board, these roles will embed community-rooted insight into the Trust’s strategic decision-making and strengthen collaboration with the VCSE sector across south east London.
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Women's and Girls' Health Hub Programme
The Women’s and Girls’ Health Hub Programme, led by South East London Integrated Care System and King's Health Partners, is inviting Expressions of Interest (EOIs) for cross-sector initiatives that strengthen prevention and early intervention and improve health outcomes for women and girls — particularly those from underserved communities.
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Take the Lead
A new community grants programme called Take the Lead, offering between £500 and £1,500 for community groups to deliver projects, events or activities that explore how data can support health and wellbeing within their local community.
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Together for wellbeing
A new Health Incubation Programme designed to support London-based social enterprises working to improve mental health through preventative and systemic approaches.
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The value of collaborative commissioning
This report from Community Southwark makes the case for commissioning with communities, not just for them. It outlines how equal partnerships with VCSE organisations can lead to more inclusive, innovative and effective services across south east London.
VCSE innovations
Working with healthcare systems
New letter makes the case for VCFSE sector
Representatives from 42 VCFSE Alliances across England are collaborating to advocate for the sector’s role in local health and care. Ahead of its formal launch, the interim Alliance42 steering group has written to NHS leaders in response to major changes, including the abolition of NHS England and cuts to local ICBs.
VCSE innovations
National guidance
Working with healthcare systems
VCSE strategic leadership opportunity
King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, in partnership with South East London Voluntary, Community, and Social Enterprise (SEL VCSE) Strategic Alliance (ICB) are looking for a passionate, community-rooted VCSE leader to take on a brand-new opportunity that will help shape how King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust works with the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector across South East London.
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Unseen but essential
NAVCA’s new report shines a light on the vital but often overlooked role of micro and small VCSE organisations in local systems. It’s a must-read for anyone interested in building a stronger, more connected community sector.
VCSE innovations
National guidance
Working with healthcare systems
Community Blood Pressure Screening Tool
Primary care clinicians including from Clinical Effectiveness SEL (CESEL) and community groups have come together to co-develop and deliver community blood pressure testing and education in several settings across SEL. They have captured the learning from this work to share with others in a new Community Blood Pressure Screening Tool: A Training Resource.
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South London Evaluation Advice Clinics
Introducing the South London (SL) Evaluation Advice Clinics – a pilot initiative available for three months, from February to April 2025, to make evaluation more accessible and more impactful. The clinic is being hosted by a consortium of King’s Health Partners, King’s Improvement Science (KCL) and Health Innovation Network South London.
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Leading for System Change
This programme is a six-month initiative offered free of charge and targeted at Assistant Director / Director level participants who wish to develop their system leadership skills and are working in roles that requires them to work across sectors to deliver a shared programme of work.
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Listening to local people and communities
The insights the South East London Integrated Care Board (SEL ICB) gains from people and local communities about their views and experiences is central to their work in planning, designing and transforming services. The sections below outline what the healthcare system has heard from local people to inform their work. You can also read project specific feedback on Let’s Talk Health and Care in South East London, their on-line engagement platform.
Working with healthcare systems
Unlock expertise with GLG partnerships
GLG Partnerships offers free access to experts across a wide range of industries, helping charities and community groups tackle challenges and drive their missions forward. Find out how this unique resource can benefit south east London’s voluntary sector.
Digital solutions
Boost your voice with MediaTrust
MediaTrust provides expert training and a volunteer matching programme to help charities and community groups improve their communications and reach wider audiences. Discover how this brilliant resource can support south east London’s voluntary sector.
Digital solutions
Trust and Health Creation Partnership
South East London Voluntary, Community, and Social Enterprise (SEL VCSE) Strategic Alliance, King’s Health Partners, and SEL Integrated Care Board (ICB) are partnering with five grassroots ‘By and For VCSE organisations based in south east London to co-create a prevention and health-creation collaborative that will build trust, foster equity, and promote wellness within communities who experience the greatest health inequalities.
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Empowering young minds
In collaboration with Black Thrive, the South East London Integrated Care Board (ICB) is looking for grassroots organisations to help address mental health gaps for Black and mixed race children in primary school, offering funding and support to facilitate meaningful community engagement to develop collective solutions by coproducing anti-racist and trauma-informed initiatives.
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Canva
Canva is an easy-to-use design tool that’s ideal for small VCSE organisations. It offers a free version with plenty of templates, images, and tools to create professional-looking content quickly —perfect for social media posts, flyers, or reports. There’s also Canva for Nonprofits with extra features, and Charity Digital offers discounts on premium plans. Whether you’re designing solo or collaborating with a team, Canva makes it simple to create impactful materials without breaking the bank.
Digital solutions
Creative Health Impact Framework
The Creative Health Impact Framework is an exciting new tool co-designed by professionals from the arts, voluntary, health, and cultural sectors in south east London. Commissioned by London Plus and supported by the Mayor of London, it will help organisations plan, measure, and demonstrate the impact of creative health projects.
VCSE innovations
Local Government Association
This guide provides practical steps for councils to build strong relationships, facilitate partnerships, and offer capacity-building support to smaller voluntary, community, faith, and social enterprise organisations. By following these best practices, we can enhance collaboration, ensure inclusivity, and empower smaller VCFSE organisations to better serve our diverse communities. Explore this resource to strengthen your engagement efforts and support the vital work of smaller VCFSE organisations.
Working with healthcare systems
Exploring strategic VCSE partnerships
The South East London Integrated Care Board (SEL ICB) hosted a research event on September 4th, focusing on collaboration within Integrated Care Systems (ICS). The event gathered experts to explore challenges and opportunities, emphasizing trust-building, open dialogue, and co-creation with the voluntary and community sector (VCSE). Discussions also addressed the need for stable funding for VCSE organizations, showcasing successful partnerships that drive positive change in community health services.
Working with healthcare systems
VCSE innovations
South London Listens
Learn about South London Listens' Impact Report and 2024-25 Action Plan, highlighting significant progress in addressing mental health challenges and health inequalities through collaborative efforts.
Working with healthcare systems
Widening participation and increasing equity
Discover the insights we gained and the practical strategies we have developed to break down barriers for underrepresented groups in accessing health and care careers in south east London.
VCSE innovations
Working with healthcare systems
Featured
Community Southwark
Supporting Southwark's charities and community groups and connecting organisations to each other, funders, and decision makers to make change, together.
Councils for Voluntary Service (CVS)
Integrate Agency CIC
Growing, strengthening and giving a voice to the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector in Lambeth.
Councils for Voluntary Service (CVS)
Lewisham Local
Connecting, strengthening and giving to build happier, healthier communities in Lewisham.
Councils for Voluntary Service (CVS)
Bexley Voluntary Service Council
Promoting voluntary and community action as a means of improving the quality of life for people in Bexley.
Councils for Voluntary Service (CVS)
Community Links Bromley
From strategic representation to advice and guidance, to empower the voice of Bromley's VCSE sector.
Councils for Voluntary Service (CVS)
Discover and learn
Events and training
Browse current and archived events and training for VCSE leaders and statutory partners, all focused on strengthening knowledge-sharing and collaboration for a stronger south east London.
Creating change together
Current collaborations and projects
Research Engagement Network
Capacity-building and enhanced grants programme
Trust and Health Creation Partnership
Building a fairer, community‑led research system in south east London
The Research Engagement Network (REN) is part of a national NHS England programme focused on embedding research more effectively across the health and care system - and ensuring it works for everyone.
Strengthening the hyper-local VCSE ecosystem at the heart of neighbourhood health
Learn how funding from the SEL Integrated Care Board (ICB) is supporting grassroots VCSE organisations to grow, sustain and lead community‑led prevention and health creation.
Exploring and evidencing community-lead health creation
The Trust and Health Creation Partnership is a three-year programme funded by the South East London Integrated Care Board (SEL ICB), bringing together By and For and grassroots VCSE organisations, NHS Prevention Leads, King's Health Partners and the South East London VCSE Strategic Alliance. Together, we are exploring how trust, relationships and community leadership contribute to community-led health creation, and how health and care systems can better understand, support and invest in the conditions that help communities thrive.
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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."
Jattinder Rai
Chief Executive Officer Bexley Voluntary Service Council
"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.