Action Planning: A Method for Following Up with Creative Health Advocates
When a local leader in one of our systems expresses enthusiasm for creative health, the natural question arises: what next? This blog explores one effective way to follow up: creating an action plan proposal. While it’s not the only method, it provides a structured and actionable way to engage stakeholders and position creative health as a solution to pressing local priorities.
The Action Plan Proposal
An action plan proposal is a tailored document designed to quickly summarise the context, opportunities, and next steps for a stakeholder. By aligning the content with their specific geographical location, industry, and/or sphere of influence, you equip them with a clear, actionable roadmap to champion creative health initiatives effectively.
If you would like to see an example of what an action plan document might look like, you can access a case study, via the linked below. This was prepared for Sonia Kumar, the MP who represents the Dudley constituency in Black Country, UK.
Example Action Plan | Dudley Constituency (PDF) >>
Why Action Plans Matter
Stakeholders in health and political sectors often face significant constraints on their time and resources. By creating a short and logical action plan, you remove barriers that may prevent them from considering creative health – such as the time to research and familiarise themselves with relevant creative health opportunities.
Specific recommendations, framed within their existing priorities, demonstrate that creative health is not a ‘nice-to-have’ luxury but an innovative, practical solution to challenges they already care about. By presenting creative health in this way, you not only encourage action but position it as integral to achieving their preexisting goals. Through thoughtful follow-up, you can build momentum for real, lasting change.
Structuring the Action Plan
The structure of an action plan document can vary, but here is a framework, borrowed from the example linked above:
1. Identify Top Health Priorities
This section anchors creative health to a small number of well-documented local health priorities. Choose these based on reputable sources such as regional health strategies or a statement from a trusted health stakeholder that is invested in creative health.
Example: for Dudley, I used the three goals set out in the strategic documentation of Dudley’s Health and Wellbeing Board. A Health and Wellbeing Board is comprised of important health leaders in an area, such as the Director of Public Health. The board must include a representative of each relevant CCG and local Healthwatch, as well as local authority representatives.
2. Showcase Creative Health Case Studies
Highlight case studies that demonstrate measurable health or economic benefits aligned to the identified priorities. Balance qualitative narratives with quantitative data.
Example: In the Dudley Action Plan Document, I used a case study of Melodies for Mums as a way of showing how an organisation has impacted parental mental health and child development. These two outcomes perfectly aligned to the way that Dudley’s Health and Wellbeing Board intend to respond to their goal of getting children ready for school by the age of four. In comparison, for their goal of having fewer people die from circulatory disease, I prioritised quantitative information, such as the percentage in which cardiovascular death is reduced following dance interventions.
3. Identify Local Creative Health Providers
List creative health providers in the stakeholder’s locale. Even if the focus of their work does not perfectly align to the art forms or outputs featured in the examples and goals, the communication of their existence indicates important information about what assets are available or absent locally, in order to bring similar benefits to this location. Accordingly, this section can either illuminate strengths or indicate development needs, such as skills training, team expansion, or more sustainable income streams.
Example: in Dudley, creative health providers include Creative Health CIC and Creative Black Country. Even just the names of these organisations demonstrate a commitment to creative health in the area, inspiring trust for my intended reader of this document. If the organisations or practitioners featured in your own action plan do not have such identifiable names, or if you know enough about them to speak passionately about their work, then you may want to consider providing more context than I have in my example.
4. Recommend Actions for the Stakeholder
Conclude with a small, specific, and manageable list of recommended actions. Each recommendation should clearly align with the values and priorities of the stakeholder.
Example: in my document, I wanted to create a clear logic path between the priorities I had identified and the creative health case studies I had showcased. Since the stakeholder reading the document was an MP, I opted to recommend targeted advocacy based on this logic path. Had the reader been a healthcare stakeholder in Dudley then I may have recommended the commissioning of pilot interventions or the development of partnerships.
Guiding Principles for Writing the Action Plan
1) Quality Resources: Reference reputable data and sources, preferably with links to the original source or a list of them in a bibliography. This is a more compelling approach than relying on your own biases towards creative health’s integration.
2) Keep It Concise: This is a pitch deck, not an educational tool. Avoid overloading the document with details about all the benefits of creative health. This document is intended for readers who already understand your vision for the ‘big picture’ - now is the time for you to isolate the first manageable steps towards actualising that vision.
3) Signposting for Further Learning: In the eventuality that your target stakeholder is interested in learning more about creative health, it is useful to include a brief section at the bottom of the document pointing them to more resources. It is best practice to keep this list of resources manageable, unless you accompany their name/ link with a couple of sentences of why you think reading it would benefit something that the reader cares about. I chose to link only one resource – The Creative Health Review (2023) – as it summarises a wide range of creative health evidence and opportunity.
4) Highlight Unique Selling Points: If you want to give a flavour of where your own interests or work experience stands outside of- or compliments- the priorities of that area, then I recommend creating a separate section from your recommended actions. Consider this a branded section, showcasing how your expertise or organisation can support them further. For example, NCCH is the secretariat for the APPG on Creative Health – a group that MP’s are encouraged to join. Recruitment for the APPG did not align with the ‘local picture’ recommendations that the Dudley MP requested from my action plan, but it was important to make her aware of it, nonetheless.
Do you have an advocate who’s ready to take creative health to the next level? Try creating your own action plan using the steps outlined here, and share your experiences!
Blog written by Jane Hearst, Midlands Creative Health Associate (NCCH), November 2024.
