What helps voluntary sector organisations move from working alongside the health and care system to having a stronger voice in shaping it?
We’re pleased to share ‘YES WE HIVCAN: A case study in voluntary sector leadership and collaboration’. It explores how the Hampshire and Isle of Wight VCSE Health and Care Alliance (HIVCA), Energise Me and the Leadership Centre worked together to build leadership confidence and strengthen the sector’s collective voice.
The programme brought together around 40 participants from voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations. Through six face-to-face workshops between November 2025 and May 2026, they explored how to navigate uncertainty, work across organisational boundaries and influence change.
Finding a way forward in a changing system
HIVCA connects voluntary sector organisations with the NHS and local government, helping the sector contribute its expertise and community connections to health and care.
Its members operate in a challenging environment. Many face growing demand, limited capacity and short-term funding while navigating changes within the NHS and local government. Some participants were already involved in health and care decision-making; others were less familiar with the structures or had fewer opportunities to contribute.
Energise Me used investment from Sport England to work with the Leadership Centre on a programme that would strengthen leadership capacity across the Alliance. The aim was to help participants develop relationships and identify practical ways to shape the system around them.
Creating space for connection
The programme brought together people from large, small and micro organisations, working with different communities and across a range of specialisms. Participants included chief executives, chairs, service leaders, fundraising and volunteer managers, and specialist therapists.
Creating time for these people to connect face to face was central to the approach. The workshops offered a space for honest conversations, reflection and shared learning that was often difficult to find within busy working lives. Those conversations helped participants understand one another’s strengths, pressures and networks, and explore opportunities for joint working.
Putting leadership into practice
The programme treated leadership as something people could exercise through their actions and relationships, wherever they sat within an organisation.
Participants explored systems leadership approaches alongside practical tools for understanding different perspectives and influencing change. Topics included developing shared purpose, working with power and influence, reframing assumptions, storytelling and responding to setbacks.
Throughout, the emphasis was on applying the learning to real work. Participants identified small actions they could take, tried new approaches and reflected on what happened. This made the learning relevant to their immediate challenges and helped build confidence to act in an uncertain environment.
Developing a shared purpose and collective voice
A key outcome of the work was an agreed shared purpose. Participants wanted the voluntary sector to be seen, heard and valued for its contribution. They identified the importance of stronger relationships, more equitable involvement for smaller charities and a clearer collective voice in health and care discussions.
They also expressed an ambition to be both service deliverers and service shapers, bringing their knowledge of communities into planning and decision-making. Building on this, they developed messages for primary care, local government and the Integrated Care Board about the sector’s professional expertise, community insights and contribution to prevention and early intervention.
Growing confidence and collaboration
Participant feedback highlighted greater confidence to speak up, challenge assumptions and take initiative. People described becoming more proactive in meetings, taking on representative roles and reaching out to other organisations.
Many reported that they had developed stronger relationships across the sector, a greater willingness to share learning and increased confidence in acting collectively. These changes provide a foundation for collaboration by helping people understand one another and feel able to participate.
Keeping the momentum going
Participants wanted to continue the connections and conversations beyond the programme. In response, HIVCA established its Ambassadors Network.
The network brings together voluntary sector leaders and practitioners who want to strengthen the voice of communities and the sector in health and care decision-making. It provides opportunities to build relationships, apply systems leadership approaches and connect representatives with the wider sector.
It is open to people beyond the original programme, allowing more organisations to contribute and helping sustain the learning. For information about the network, contact joy.martin@hivca.org.
Learning for other places
The case study offers practical learning for voluntary sector alliances, NHS colleagues, local government and others working across organisational boundaries.
It highlights the value of giving people time to build relationships, bringing different perspectives into the room and connecting leadership development to real challenges. It also shows the importance of adapting to a changing environment and creating ways for collaboration to continue after a programme ends.
For the organisations involved, the work provided a shared foundation from which to strengthen the sector’s role in health and care.
Helen Fisher
Lorna Reavley
“The programme far exceeded our expectations. Its impact continues beyond the life of the training itself, through the confidence, relationships and leadership capacity it has helped to build. We are excited to see how the HIVCA Ambassador Network continues to grow, influence change and support better outcomes for communities across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.”
— Helen Fisher, Deputy Chief Executive, Energise Me, and Lorna Reavley, Chair, HIVCA
Read YES WE HIVCAN — a case study in voluntary sector leadership and collaboration