Stories and strategy

We build bridges between communities and organisations

We are a social enterprise that wants public services to work in equal partnership with local people rather than to or for them, so better decisions are made and everyone can experience better outcomes.

We partner with the brave pioneers and innovators who want to adopt this way of working using collaborative and community-based approaches.

Get to know us

What we’ve done

What people say

Our services

We partner with local people, charities, councils, community organisations and national bodies on specific projects or as end-to-end delivery partners.

  • Collaborative commissioning and alliances

    From relationship building to financial, technical and governance issues

  • Co-production advice and guidance

    Through workshop sessions and supporting you on specific projects

  • Communities of Practice

    People learning and sharing together in a safe, open space.

  • Community research and evaluation

    An appreciative approach to quantative and qualitative reviews

Straight from the Ideas Hub

Looking for ideas and inspiration? Here you'll find stories about communities, collaboration and co-production.

by Helen Sharp

Using alliance contracting to put co-production at the heart of transforming substance use services in South Wales

We have been working alongside some pioneering commissioners and partners in Swansea and Neath Port Talbot as they transform the substance use services in their area. Here are our highlights from the co-design process.

Read article
by Helen Sharp

Celebrating 7 Years: milestone moments and looking forward

2024 marks 7 years of Ideas Alliance. Over that time we’ve grown from a small story sharing platform to a social consultancy on a mission to make co-production and collaboration the norm across the country. Co-founder Helen Sharp starts our celebrations by looking back at how it all started and what's coming next.

Read article
by Helen Sharp

Why 2024 is all about collaborative commissioning

Ideas Alliance co-founder Helen Sharp kicks off the new year reflecting on how exciting it is to see the health and social care commissioning landscape shift slowly as more people take up the co-production and collaborative commissioning banner.

Read article

Who we work with

We work with a range of people and organisations including local authorities, charities, community members, voluntary groups and national bodies.