SHAPE Advisory Group comes together to shape the programme’s future

Members of the SHAPE Advisory Group came together in Birmingham on 12–13 October for their first in-person Away Day, bringing together expertise from across housing, health, social care and related sectors to help shape the next phase of the programme.

The two-day session provided an opportunity to take stock of progress so far, look ahead to what SHAPE could achieve over the coming years, and consider how the Advisory Group can best use its collective expertise, networks and influence to support the programme.

Discussions highlighted the importance of better housing choices, prevention, independence, stronger communities and ensuring that people are able to live well in homes and places that work for them as they age.

There was a strong emphasis throughout on turning evidence into action and understanding what is needed to help evidence-informed approaches work in practice and create lasting change.

The Group also discussed the forthcoming SHAPE Challenge Fund, including the importance of supporting a range of place-based approaches, encouraging applications from across the four UK nations and ensuring that learning from SHAPE sites is shared widely.

The discussions will now feed into the next phase of SHAPE’s development, including the launch of the SHAPE Challenge Fund at a special HAPPI Hour webinar on Tuesday 27 October, and the programme’s first thematic knowledge and evidence work.