A new partnership consisting of researchers, clinicians, practitioners and policymakers is working with local citizens – who have the most to benefit from better access to, and use of, quality spaces. Working collaboratively to identify poor quality and underused spaces through citizen-led approaches, we will develop and/or modify outdoor spaces so that they are high quality and fit for purpose. We will also work to identify ways in which we can promote such spaces for everyone, ensuring that no community is excluded from benefit. The important aspect is that local communities are fully involved in decisions about what they want, and what they will use, thus becoming central to the decision-making process. They will also be involved in the evaluation of these actions, enabling them to directly see how the process has benefited their communities.

An important part of putting actions and solutions in place is understanding if they work (or not). Data plays an important part in measuring success, particularly if the same data can be collected consistently across the different actions. We will establish a way of bringing multiple sources of data together so we can effectively determine what works across multiple projects and settings.

You can find out more about GroundsWell here.