What is the Combined Authorities Programme (CAP)?
The CAP is a funding programme, developed by The Health Foundation, to investigate how combined authorities (CAs) can improve health and reduce inequalities by taking action across regions.
CAs hold the levers for many of the wider determinants of health, such as employment opportunities, transport and planning. Therefore, there are significant opportunities to improve health and reduce inequalities through regional-level action.
The Health Foundation’s CAP will support combined authorities to understand and make the most of the levers they have to take systemic action and bolster capacity to strengthen the role of regional tier government in this activity.
What are the aims of the CAP?
- To sustain capacity within CAs to prioritise work on improving health and reducing inequalities
- To extend the evidence base on how CAs can add value in improving health and reducing inequalities and increase CAs understanding of the levers available to them
- To make tangible progress on activity to improve health and reduce inequalities in specific thematic areas
- To strengthen collaboration and peer learning across CAs
What is the role of the West Midlands Combined Authority in the CAP?
A total of £1.3 million has been awarded to the WMCA to oversee the 3-year programme and work with the following 8 consortia CAs to deliver it:
The WMCA is hosting a central CAP team to drive action across the consortia member CAs, which will provide direct support, catalyse collective influence and add capacity to CAs through consultancy activity.
The central team will also work with regions to replicate successful practice through support with tools, resources and expertise, such as offering webinars on key topics and emerging issues, developing case studies and shaping jointly targeted policy areas across CAs.
Meet the CAP team
