This is a guest article from OnePlanet’s Health Lead, Dr. Gaurav Sikka
Why community development is key to health, the environment, and productivity
Our recent work with The Brixton Project and 17 local groups across Lambeth and Southwark has reinforced a simple truth: community organisations are essential to public health. They address health and environmental challenges not as isolated issues, but as interconnected parts of a thriving, resilient society.
This isn’t just about funding projects. It’s about supporting organisations in a way that allows them to collaborate meaningfully, adapt to local needs, and address the root causes of poor health outcomes in unison. We’re learning that when communities lead, climate action becomes an opportunity to build closer-knit neighbourhoods, and health becomes a shared outcome, not a burden.
What we’re seeing is that every pound invested in community, brings in a significant return in health savings. If you’d like to learn more, please contact me at gaurav.sikka@oneplanet.com, or see more about the OnePlanet approach here.
OnePlanet: Empowering Community-Led Change
+ For Professionals:
Unlock the intelligence of interconnectedness; put the right side of your brain to work and yield a more holistic perspective.
+ For Organisations:
We help community groups understand their place in this interconnected ecosystem, enabling greater impact and making it easier for them to show their value.
+ For Networks:
The platform fosters systematic collaboration, allowing groups to coordinate and work toward shared goals, big & small.
+ For Wider Stakeholders:
OnePlanet offers a way to communicate the impacts of community-led work in a visual, non-linear language, making complex initiatives easier to understand and support.
What We’ve Learned from Community Organisations
A Partnership with Health Stakeholders
A big thank you to Impact on Urban Health for funding the project and supporting this work.