Creating a Programme of Collective Care in Lambeth
Working with local service providers and entrepreneurs in Lambeth to co-design a new programme that focuses on Care, Connection and Celebration
Client
Walcot Foundation
Date
2024-2025
Lambeth, London
Client
Walcot Foundation, a Lambeth-based charitable foundation focused on breaking cycles of poverty through education and opportunity.
The Challenge
The Walcot Foundation seeks to evolve internally and externally, they wish to reimagine how they gather information, engage communities, and work equitably with local organisations. The goal of this current project is to create a network-led approach that prioritises care, connection, and celebration, which have been decided as essential values for fostering long-term community impact, but the local organisations who joined the co-design cohort.
AKOU’s impact
Akou is working with 22 local service providers, entrepreneurs, and community organisations in Lambeth to co-design a pioneering Programme of Collective Care. Through deep collaboration, deep reflection and a series of co-design sessions over the course of 6 months, Akou and the cohort have chosen three core priorities to shape the programme:
- Care: Addressing burnout and creating compassionate practices to support the well-being of organisations and communities.
- Connection: Building meaningful relationships between organisations, fostering mutual support, and strengthening the local network.
- Celebration: Amplifying the voices of underrepresented organisations, sharing successes, and creating space for storytelling.
Using participatory workshops, 1-to-1 check-ins, and small Pod Sessions, Akou introduced flexible structures to promote reflection, rejuvenation, and deeper collaboration across the network. Inspired by Tricia Hersey’s manifesto Rest Is Resistance, the programme redefined what it means to work collectively, embedding care as a foundational principle.
Key Outcomes
- Introduced care practices to integrate rest and reflection into collective work
- Designed network-building activities, including monthly 1:1 check-ins and Pod Sessions to strengthen relationships
- Facilitated monthly learning and sharing sessions for the entire network to foster collaboration and capacity building
- Created a framework for sustainable engagement that avoids traditional fast-paced and transactional approaches
End Results
The Programme of Collective Care has set a new standard for how Walcot Foundation and its partners work together. By prioritising collective well-being and amplifying unheard voices, the programme has empowered Lambeth organisations to create sustainable impact while fostering a culture of care, connection, and celebration.
