Creative Approaches to Living Well: Ideas, Partnerships & Funding for Surrey

What does it take to live well in Surrey, and what could we achieve by bringing researchers and communities together?

Join us on the 28th January 2027, for a collaborative conference and funding launch. We will be connecting researchers, charities, community organisations, local government, health and care, schools, cultural organisations and others, to explore new approaches to Living Well in Surrey.

Together, we will tackle real-world challenges, make new connections and develop ideas for funded pilot projects that could make a difference. You don't need a project or an existing partnership, just bring your research, experience, ideas or knowledge of your community, and we'll help you find the right people to work with.

What do we mean by 'Living Well'?

Living well is about much more than health: it means living independently, feeling connected, accessing the services and opportunities we need, participating in community and cultural life, and living in places that support our wellbeing.

These experiences are shaped by the conditions in which we are born, grow, live, work and age. Often referred to as the wider determinants of health, they are influenced by factors including housing, employment, income, education, transport, social connections, access to services and the local environment.

Drawing on priorities identified by Surrey County Council, NIHR Health Determinants Research Collaboration (HDRC) Surrey and the Economic and Social Research Council, we have suggested four broad themes to spark ideas and collaboration. They are starting points rather than boundaries, with plenty of scope to bring your own research, experience and community priorities to the conversation.

What could Living Well look like in practice?

• Living well and independently: healthy ageing, independent living, dementia, mobility, care and accessibility.
• Connected and resilient communities: loneliness, mental wellbeing, belonging, community resilience, inclusion and participation.
• Reducing inequalities and improving access: health inequalities, underserved communities, disability, digital exclusion and access to services.
• Healthy neighbourhoods: exploring how the places and communities in which we live can support better health and wellbeing, including housing, social care, community connectedness, access to services, active travel, local environments, cultural participation, community assets and preventative approaches.

Why creativity matters

Some of the most complex challenges affecting how we live need different perspectives. By bringing creative approaches such as storytelling, performance, or design together with social science, health research and community knowledge, we hope to better understand lived experience, reach different communities and develop new responses to local challenges.

You don't need a background in arts or creative practice to take part, or to already have a creative researcher in your network. Part of the purpose of the day is to help people from different disciplines and sectors find one another and explore what they could achieve together.

The event will be led and facilitated by Laura Evans Hill of Nifty Fox Creative, using her ‘Bridge of Possibility’ approach. Through this visual and interactive process, Laura will help you unpack shared challenges, make new connections and combine different perspectives to generate practical ideas for change, with the potential to develop these into collaborative, fundable projects.

Turning ideas into impact

Following the event, you will be invited to develop collaborative proposals for small-scale pilot funding of up to £10,000, supported through the ESRC Impact Acceleration Account at the University of Surrey and the NIHR HDRC Surrey.

We will be looking for strong partnerships and credible pathways to create meaningful local impact. Project applications should connect research with a local challenge, involve a creative practitioner/researcher, and be co-created with a non-academic partner connected to the region. The funding will allow you to test an idea, trial a creative approach, develop an intervention, gather evidence or explore what works, creating the potential for longer-term partnerships, wider impact and future investment. We are encouraging an interdisciplinary approach, welcoming participation from anyone in the community, and any researchers working across the social sciences, arts and humanities, and health and medical sciences.

Register now and help shape what Living Well in Surrey could look like!