Events and opportunities
Social Connections Funding
This fund is to learn more about what works to support those at risk of harm from social isolation. Specifically, we want to focus on people furthest from traditional support networks who are experiencing severe loneliness.
We define this target group through the lens of severe loneliness:
“Severe loneliness is the feeling that comes when you face tough times without enough supportive people around you…
While mild loneliness is a commonly occurring unwelcome feeling that most of us experience sometimes, severe loneliness is painful and debilitating; …
It is not random: it falls heaviest on a select group of people.”
We are looking to fund up to two organisations who are already working on building social connections & addressing social isolation. This can be the sole focus or a strand of your work as an organisation.
Funding will be up to £25,000 per year over three years and look to develop knowledge to support:
- Exploring new ideas
We want to deepen our understanding of what works to address severe loneliness in City & Hackney. We are looking for projects that can show us what support is already out there, find the people who are most at risk of harm, and figure out the best ways to help them. A big part of this will also be looking at what’s getting in the way and what’s helping things work across the local system.
- Testing collaborative ways of working
We want to try out new ways of working together that share knowledge between local organizations, services, and residents. By bringing different groups together, we want to see how collaboration can help residents build meaningful connections and better protect those who are most at risk from being isolated.
We will look to build on our knowledge and so the model will be as follows:
- Year 1: Test & Learn – During this phase, try out new ideas and partnerships to see what actually works for finding and supporting our most isolated residents.
- Year 2: Develop – During this phase, build on those early lessons by growing the most successful approaches and making community connections even stronger.
- Year 3: Building Sustainability – During the final year, focus on embedding these proven ways of working into the local system so that this vital support lasts long after the funding ends.
Find out more about the fund in the programme guidance (Google doc link).
An online information session will take place:
Thursday, 16 July · 9:30 – 10:30am
Video call link: https://meet.google.com/eaq-dqua-kiu
Or dial: (GB) +44 20 3937 4391 PIN: 495 827 353#
This will be a two stage process with initial applications open from 13th July – 7th September 2026 at 5pm. Successful applicants will then be invited to a short second stage building on your answers from your initial application.
If you have any questions after reading the guidance, please email phh@cityandhackneyph.hackney.gov.uk.
The Population Health Hub Lunch and Learn Programme
The Population Health Hub has been running a monthly virtual Lunch and Learn programme and will be updating the list below with upcoming sessions. We have covered a range of topics from health literacy to social connection, participatory grant making, research skills, and more.
The programme is taking a short break but if you have an idea for a future session, we’d love to hear it! Send your suggestions to: phh@cityandhackneyph.hackney.gov.uk
Past events
Click here to see highlights from past events.