Six months of Lambeth Can Move
From listening to action.
The first six months of Lambeth Can Move have been all about listening, learning and, most importantly, starting to turn what we hear into action.
Through partnership working on the ground, focus groups, workshops, schools, local organisations and community conversations, we have engaged with around 1,000 residents and local leaders to hear their views on physical activity in Lambeth.
We wanted to understand the big things that matter to people. What gets in the way of being active? What would make it easier? And how can being active become a more natural part of everyday life in Lambeth?
From listening to doing
In Lambeth, we don’t want to only talk about change, we want to try things, learn from them and see what works.
One of the things we are really proud of so far is the work that has gone into co-designing 12 pilot projects, shaped by what local people have told us they want and need.
The ideas look different across Lambeth because every community is different. They range from making better use of school spaces so they can become welcoming hubs for children and young people, to bringing small moments of movement into activities such as knitting groups, making it easier for our ageing well communities to be active as part of something they are already doing.
In Stockwell, work is also taking place to create safe spaces for women and girls to be active, alongside many more ideas being tested across our six neighbourhoods.
Find out more about our Pilot Sessions
None of this would be possible without the organisations and partners who are already embedded in Lambeth’s communities. They know their neighbourhoods, have trusted relationships with local people and have been central to turning conversations into ideas we can actually try.
Creating change together
Listening to communities is important, but Lambeth Can Move is also about looking at the wider picture.
If we want to create lasting change, we need to think about the different people, organisations and decisions that influence how easy or difficult it is for someone to be active. That means creating opportunities for people working in different parts of Lambeth to come into the same room, challenge each other’s thinking and look at the role they can each play.
That could be someone working directly with residents, someone working in health or planning, a community organisation, or someone making decisions at a borough wide level. Everyone sees a different part of the picture, and bringing those perspectives together helps us protect and work towards our shared vision for Lambeth.
(Read more about our Lambeth Can Move vision - link to Vision page)
Over the last few months, we have been fortunate to offer leadership opportunities to people from across the Council, CVS partners, local groups and a range of community organisations.
We held a two-day systems leadership course at 336 in Brixton, followed by a half-day session at Norwood Cemetery. A huge thank you to Lola from Hackney Place Partnership and Liona from Miova for helping us begin to think differently about leadership and what creating change across a whole system can look like.
One of the ideas we explored was thinking about a system a little like an onion, peeling back the layers rather than only looking at what we can see on the surface. It encouraged us to ask different questions: what is sitting underneath a challenge? Where are our strengths? Who are we already connected to? And how can those relationships help us create change?
For Lambeth Can Move, systems leadership is about recognising that tackling deep-rooted inequalities isn’t the responsibility of one organisation or one person. We all have a role to play, and sometimes the biggest difference comes from joining up the strengths, knowledge and connections that already exist across Lambeth.
What comes next?
After a busy first six months, we’re excited about what comes next.
In September, we will bring partners from across Lambeth together through the Lambeth Can Move Network (link here), creating a bigger space for people to connect, share what they are seeing in their communities and help shape what happens next.
We are also getting ready to submit for the next stage of funding later this year, building on everything we have learned so far and continuing to work alongside communities to shape the future of Lambeth Can Move.
It has been a big six months for everyone involved in the partnership.
For me, one of the most exciting things about working in Lambeth is that collaboration already feels like a natural way of working. There is a real willingness to share, challenge each other and try things together.
That gives me a lot of excitement for what the next few years could bring for children and young people, women and girls, our ageing well communities and, ultimately, everyone across Lambeth.
The first six months of Lambeth Can Move have been all about listening, learning and, most importantly, starting to turn what we hear into action.
Through partnership working on the ground, focus groups, workshops, schools, local organisations and community conversations, we have engaged with around 1,000 residents and local leaders to hear their views on physical activity in Lambeth.
We wanted to understand the big things that matter to people. What gets in the way of being active? What would make it easier? And how can being active become a more natural part of everyday life in Lambeth?
From listening to doing
In Lambeth, we don’t want to only talk about change, we want to try things, learn from them and see what works.
One of the things we are really proud of so far is the work that has gone into co-designing 12 pilot projects, shaped by what local people have told us they want and need.
The ideas look different across Lambeth because every community is different. They range from making better use of school spaces so they can become welcoming hubs for children and young people, to bringing small moments of movement into activities such as knitting groups, making it easier for our ageing well communities to be active as part of something they are already doing.
In Stockwell, work is also taking place to create safe spaces for women and girls to be active, alongside many more ideas being tested across our six neighbourhoods.
Find out more about our Pilot Sessions
None of this would be possible without the organisations and partners who are already embedded in Lambeth’s communities. They know their neighbourhoods, have trusted relationships with local people and have been central to turning conversations into ideas we can actually try.
Creating change together
Listening to communities is important, but Lambeth Can Move is also about looking at the wider picture.
If we want to create lasting change, we need to think about the different people, organisations and decisions that influence how easy or difficult it is for someone to be active. That means creating opportunities for people working in different parts of Lambeth to come into the same room, challenge each other’s thinking and look at the role they can each play.
That could be someone working directly with residents, someone working in health or planning, a community organisation, or someone making decisions at a borough wide level. Everyone sees a different part of the picture, and bringing those perspectives together helps us protect and work towards our shared vision for Lambeth.
(Read more about our Lambeth Can Move vision - link to Vision page)
Over the last few months, we have been fortunate to offer leadership opportunities to people from across the Council, CVS partners, local groups and a range of community organisations.
We held a two-day systems leadership course at 336 in Brixton, followed by a half-day session at Norwood Cemetery. A huge thank you to Lola from Hackney Place Partnership and Liona from Miova for helping us begin to think differently about leadership and what creating change across a whole system can look like.
One of the ideas we explored was thinking about a system a little like an onion, peeling back the layers rather than only looking at what we can see on the surface. It encouraged us to ask different questions: what is sitting underneath a challenge? Where are our strengths? Who are we already connected to? And how can those relationships help us create change?
For Lambeth Can Move, systems leadership is about recognising that tackling deep-rooted inequalities isn’t the responsibility of one organisation or one person. We all have a role to play, and sometimes the biggest difference comes from joining up the strengths, knowledge and connections that already exist across Lambeth.
What comes next?
After a busy first six months, we’re excited about what comes next.
In September, we will bring partners from across Lambeth together through the Lambeth Can Move Network (link here), creating a bigger space for people to connect, share what they are seeing in their communities and help shape what happens next.
We are also getting ready to submit for the next stage of funding later this year, building on everything we have learned so far and continuing to work alongside communities to shape the future of Lambeth Can Move.
It has been a big six months for everyone involved in the partnership.
For me, one of the most exciting things about working in Lambeth is that collaboration already feels like a natural way of working. There is a real willingness to share, challenge each other and try things together.
That gives me a lot of excitement for what the next few years could bring for children and young people, women and girls, our ageing well communities and, ultimately, everyone across Lambeth.