Well Together Stories
Listening for change: Why Storytelling matters in community health
When it comes to evaluating the impact of community-led health initiatives, numbers and statistics can only take us so far. They can show reach, frequency, and give an indication of “cost-effectiveness”.
But they don’t capture the heart of what really changes for people, what that means for their own health as well as the health of the people close to them, or offer an insight into why that particular activity or group has made such an impact on that person.
That’s why we’ve been keen to embrace storytelling as part of our internal evaluation framework for the Well Together programme from the outset of this work. Stories allow us to see beyond the numerical data and into the lived experiences of those who deliver and participate in community activities. They reveal the personal, often transformational, shifts that illustrate why this work is crucial in promoting health equity.
Read some of the stories:
It’s about falling in love with the outdoors
These people are being inspired by you
You have to live it to lead it
It’s made me less of an angry person
It’s made me more creative in my everyday life
The storytelling as evaluation approach builds on the Most Significant Change technique, a method pioneered locally, since 2017, by the Old Fire Station. Their expertise in using storytelling as a tool for human-friendly evaluation has inspired our work and provided training and support to organisations across Oxfordshire – including our own team of Community Capacity Builders.
Earlier this year, our programme team – trained as story collectors – began gathering stories from two perspectives:
- Organisers and volunteers, who bring these activities to life with care, dedication and creativity.
- Participants and attendees, who share how engaging in community activities has influenced their wellbeing, confidence, and sense of connection.
Each story offers a chance for reflection: What has changed? Why has it been important? The process itself is meaningful as storytellers often say it helps them recognise and articulate the impact in their own lives.
These stories do more than illustrate impact – they demonstrate clearly that community health initiatives are about people, not programmes. They highlight why investing in community activity matters, showing how seemingly small shifts in confidence, belonging, or wellbeing ripple outward in powerful ways.
As we continue collecting and sharing stories, we are grateful to all who have contributed. Your voices bring to life the last two years of work put into delivering the Well Together programme as we continue to make the case for further investment to strengthen the capacity of grassroots groups and community-led activity.
Well Together is delivered in partnership by OCVA and Community First Oxfordshire. The Programme is funded by the NHS Buckinghamshire Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care Board.