Stakeholder survey - 2024 results

"Keep listening to the local communities!"

Our annual stakeholder survey helps us understand how we’re doing at People’s Health Trust and ensure we are providing the resources and support needed for grassroots organisations to address health inequalities in their communities.

Thank you to everyone who took part in the survey and shared their experiences with us. As in previous years, the vast majority of respondents currently receive funding from the Trust (96%).

Overall, the Trust is seen by funded partners as a listening organisation that is accessible to and supportive of its applicants and funded partners, as well as offering clear and distinctive policies.

The role of People's Health Trust's funding

96% of respondents feel that organisations such as People’s Health Trust are critical at this time and some respondents commented on the fact the funding from People’s Health Trust had helped them secure funds from other sources.

Comments included:

• The grant has allowed us to bring additional services which have been crucial for our beneficiaries.
• The funding was a lifeline to saving the project.

Customer Service

As in previous years, feedback on customer service or support in general is very positive. Respondents really appreciate the personal contact that they have with staff as well as the efficiency and quality of support.

Application process

Most respondents found the process easy to complete and the amount of information requested appropriate. In particular, the quality of support received from the Trust, and the clarity of the language were highlighted. Where respondents raised issues, these concerned the length of the process and amount of information required.

45% of respondents requested additional information or support advice during the application process and most people who sought support found it helpful to a large extent.

Decision making and grant management

• Nearly all respondents felt the decision timescale was reasonable (66% to a large extent and 29% to some extent). This is comparable to last year.

• 81% agree to a large extent and 14% to some extent that grant payments are made efficiently which is also a slight improvement on last year.

• We received positive feedback on the reporting process as “helping maintain accountability and transparency while allowing us to focus our efforts primarily on delivering the project effectively.” And being “beneficial for the learning process from a grassroot perspective.”

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

The Trust works with marginalised groups of people across England, Scotland and Wales. We aim to encourage inclusivity, diversity and equity in our work and our partners. We asked respondents indicate to what extent they agree to the following statements and got a broadly similar response to last year. 97% of respondents found marketing materials accessible to some or a large extent – an increase from 90% last year.

• 91% agreed their contact with the Trust had been positive in relation to equality, diversity and inclusion.

• 93% of respondents feel the Trust’s programmes reflect the diversity of the communities in which they live and work, the same as last year.

Communications, influencing change and networking

96% agreed to large or some extent that it was easy to understand the Trust’s work and that our approach to addressing health inequalities is clear from our website and newsletters.

Most respondents felt the Trust's support had helped them understand health inequalities, have greater confidence in explaining them and tackling them, and feel equipped with tools and knowledge to effect change, similar to last year. Responses indicate that more peer-group events would be useful in helping funded partners feel more confident in this area, along with resources to use within projects.

Comments included

• The courses and seminars are really helpful and I will continue to look to see what is on offer that can help me with my learning.
• We are delighted that the support aligned with our existing qualities, values and goals, and validated a lot of the work we do regarding health literacy, health inequality, social value etc.

Government policy

To support our policy work, we asked a new question this year to gauge what Government policy funded partners think will significantly impact on the lives of the communities you serve. We received responses both before and after the General Election.

The need to listen to and value local responses and solutions and to do more for specific groups including people with learning disabilities, refugees and people seeking asylum and carers were seen as important by our funded partners.

We received a range of responses across the building blocks of health with priorities including improving the benefits system to reduce poverty; providing affordable and decent homes; improving education and access to digital services and to quality food.

Mental health care reform, reducing waiting times in the NHS, and investment in green energy and jobs/skills were key broad policy areas identified.

How we are responding to the survey results

We have met as a team and discussed the findings from the survey and they continue to inform our work as we shape future funding streams and policy and influencing work. We have also convened and surveyed funded partners to find out more about their priorities to deepen our understanding and influence our own priorities. We will review our analysis in early 2025 and this will help us shape our network and training offer for next year.

We continue to implement our EDI Action Plan to ensure that EDI is considered in all of our practices and will be sharing an update on our progress in early 2025.