We have long understood that ‘it is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change…’ And someone has since added… ‘that lives within the means available and works co-operatively against common threats.’ [1]
In this second of our four-part conversation series, outgoing Chief Executive Officer Susan Kay (SK) and her successor Katy Saunders (KS) discuss collaboration. And in particular, how it serves to de-risk change.
Why is it important to be open to collaboration?
SK: I have advocated collaboration as a core part of a resilient organisational strategy for many years. The innovation research literature tells us it’s a good thing (if not an easy thing) and it was the subject of my Master’s dissertation. Over the past (almost) ten years I’ve spent as CEO, we’ve been able to fulfill our change ambitions by being open to collaboration.
Ageing covers a broad range of disciplines. A whole-person approach is needed to change the culture of health and social care to meet the needs of our ageing population. Achieving this calls for a good deal of generous and organised cooperation across sectors, disciplines and professions. From our own perspective, as an operationally tiny organisation, we needed to find ways to leverage our assets. Identifying like-minded, trustworthy and innovative organisations to work with has helped us to learn, de-risk and amplify our progress.
KS: I couldn’t agree more. Collaboration is also at the heart of how I work, and it’s the constant that helps to de-risk change. The external landscape – whether policy, structure, or system priorities – will always evolve. But deep partnership working creates the stability that enables progress to continue and ideas to succeed.
At the Vivensa Foundation, collaboration is built on both research and co-design. Evidence gives us confidence, but it’s co-design – bringing together people and communities with researchers, frontline teams and system leaders – that makes ideas stronger and more sustainable. When different parts of the ecosystem work together, ideas are tested, owned and shaped collectively. That shared ownership creates the leverage that Sue referenced, spreading risk and amplifying impact.
How do you encourage people to collaborate?
SK: When you’re trying to change thinking and ways of doing things that have been entrenched forever within a system, you need to find fellow travellers. We’ve joined with five other charitable foundations to be part of the 2026 Endowments Investing Challenge. It is throwing down the gauntlet to asset managers to build investment portfolios that prioritise positive social and environmental impact for people and planet. We hope that this will influence innovation in the investment community.
We’ve also been building the Vivensa Academy over the last couple of years. It is a growing community of researchers, clinicians and community-facing organisations. Academy members work in housing, health and care for our ageing population. We want people from a range of sectors to join. In fact, we actively encourage them to come together and collaborate meaningfully.
KS: Collaboration works best when we recognise that no single organisation or individual has the answer. This is particularly true when it comes to complex, systemic issues like ageing, prevention or place-based care. We need to be open and generous about what we can do and honest and humble about what we can’t. I like using the Routes to Scale framework to identify the different ‘levers’ that can be pulled by different partners at different times. Taking this systems approach maximises impact and de-risks change. It is liberating to see the Vivensa Foundation working to define a clear role in an ecosystem with many partners pulling different levers to achieve the same goal: to help us all age well.
Could you share an example of successful collaboration?
SK: Early on in my time here, we were introduced to a small community-based charity in Northern Ireland. The Mid and East Antrim Agewell Partnership had managed to convene a partnership comprising GP practices, pharmacists, social workers, voluntary groups – and more. They were delivering an accessible service in a community with an ageing population with increasingly diverse needs. It went on to survive COVID and political uncertainty and emerged as a model which the current devolved administration describes as an exemplar. It was this organisation’s culture of generous cooperation and resilience that has shaped our approach to many of our programmes. And it’s a culture we want to foster among our award-holders and within our Academy.
KS: One that springs to mind for me is the recently launched Community Transformation Funds in West Herts and Lincolnshire. These came out of a groundbreaking partnership between Macmillan Cancer Support, Social Finance, West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Lincolnshire Integrated Care Board, the Caribbean & African Health Network (CAHN) and King’s College London. The Funds are an ambitious new approach designed to create sustainable, community-led health and care innovation. I have worked on this for the last three years. And what I valued most was the willingness for partners to talk openly about the challenging aspects, rather than just the things that were going well.
[1] Attributed to, and based on, the work of Charles Darwin
If you missed the first part of this series, you can read it here. The third part – a conversation about supporting innovative change – will be published in late November.
Vivensa Academy is a growing membership of researchers, clinicians and community innovators. And it is a place where collaboration is positively encouraged. Apply to join the Academy here.
You can read more about the Endowments Investing Challenge here.