A new microgrants programme for London communities has been announced by the NHS Legacy and Health Equity Partnership (LHEP) and the Greater London Authority (GLA).

This is a new funding opportunity for community organisations working directly with communities, and either directly or indirectly supporting Londoners impacted by health inequity and healthcare exclusion.

Microgrants are available for £2,000 or £5,000 to fund community initiatives that scope, develop and/or deliver sustainable and community-led methods of building partnership between communities and health services, towards building shared resilience, mitigating health inequality, and improving access to health services.

Proposals focussed on improving the health and wellbeing of communities impacted by health inequality, or proposing solutions to overcome identified barriers to health services are encouraged and welcomed.

Proposals may incorporate the following themes:

• Hearing and responding to community health priorities
• Improving community access to health services
• Developing sustainable methods of building partnership between communities and health services.

The application period will open on 3 July 2023 and there will be an official in-person launch event in Central London on 19 July 2023 – Community Action for Partnerships in Health: A community conversation event.

The event is intended to provide an opportunity to learn more about this funding opportunity and the objectives of the project, explore existing and potential community led approaches to mitigating health inequality, and enable organisations considering applying to discuss their ideas with funders and grant managers, Rocket Science. It is intended to support sustained collaborative working between the London health system and London communities and will be relevant for:

• community organisations supporting Londoners impacted by health inequality
• a broad range of health system colleagues focussing on community engagement and/or service planning and delivery.

Prospective applicants are encouraged to attend the launch event for support in developing applications and to learn more about the programme. Information will be available for those unable to attend in person.

The closing date for applications to the fund is 5pm on 11 August 2023.

Awards will be made on 14 September for projects to be delivered between 15 September 2023 and 31 March 2024.

For full details and to apply, visit the Rocket Science Community Action for Partnerships in Health webpage.