Collaborate: Cross-Sector Development
In partnership with Wigan Council Public Health Team
How can we sustain wellbeing, through collaboration?
The Wigan 5 Ways framework helps wellbeing-focused organisations, partnerships and communities work together more effectively. Developed through collaborative design, it provides practical ways to strengthen cross-sector relationships, increase participation and support long-term systems change across health, local government and community organisations.
Collaborate for Better Ways of Working
Using our Healing-Centred Design approach, we brought together grassroots organisations, community leaders and system partners to explore what helps collaboration thrive. Through community-led research, design conversations, workshops and micro-missions, we worked alongside 28 organisations and community partners to uncover the conditions needed for long-term change. This work supported the development of Wigan Public Health’s team approach to community collaboration.
Building Stronger Partnerships
What emerged was a clear insight: systems change happens when partnerships are relational, place-based and rooted in lived experience.
That means having the tricky conversations, navigating conflict, taking the risk to do things differently and moving money and resources to align with the systems-change words on paper. It also means holding the thread of the work across partners, updating and sharing insight, building the collective story and making it recognisable and connected to identity. Trust grows when people have genuine influence, learning is shared, and communities are valued as partners rather than participants.
Creating Lasting Systems Change
This learning led to the creation of the Wigan 5 Ways to Collaboration, a practical framework that helps organisations build stronger relationships, share power, create momentum and develop more equitable ways of working together. The Wigan 5 Ways to Collaboration framework is being used to shape wellbeing focused engagement across Wigan.
- The Wigan WorkWell team used it during service-design workshops to improve the employment and health support service.
- Wigan Borough Community First used it to develop the community partnerships element of a Dispersed Leadership Model.
- Wigan Council Public Health team used it to shape ‘Thrive in Five’ a VCFSE funding programme.
The Impact of Community Collaboration
Lasting change happens when what has been created together (through community collaboration), becomes embedded in the everyday decisions, development, behaviours and practices of a system.
The Wigan 5 Ways to Collaboration was created through community-led research, co-production and cross-sector collaboration. It is being used across multiple programmes and partnerships to guide how people work together.
Systems change happens when collaboration produces something shared, and that shared approach is consistently used to shape action, relationships and investment over time.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are Human Skills?
Human Skills are the everyday behaviours we encourage through our work, that help people work well together through change. Skills like compassion, trust-building, conflict navigation, adaptability and critical thinking help teams communicate, collaborate and thrive under pressure.
What is Healing-Centred Design®?
Healing-Centred Design® is our approach to creating positive change, that blends trauma-informed practice, systems thinking and creative coaching. Rather than just solving problems, it helps people, teams and communities design ways of working that build wellbeing, strengthen relationships and create lasting change.
What is Systems Change work?
Systems change is the collaborative work of identifying the patterns, relationships and structures that shape everyday experiences. It helps uncover the root causes of challenges and redesign how systems, services and communities work together to achieve better outcomes for people.
By bringing together the people who use, deliver and influence services, through meaningful consultation and research, codesign and coproduction, systems change work creates more effective, sustainable solutions that improve wellbeing, reduce inequalities and strengthen communities.