Collaboration and Community Leadership: Learning from the West Sussex Drug & Alcohol Partnership Community Fund Programme
The publication of the West Sussex Drug and Alcohol Partnership (WS DAP) Community Fund Programme Evaluation provides an opportunity to reflect on what can be achieved when collaboration, co-production and lived experience are embedded from the outset.
Between Autumn 2024 and Spring 2026, the Community Fund programme brought together statutory partners, community organisations and people with lived and living experience to explore a simple but ambitious question: could community-led projects be designed and delivered in a way that was both innovative and accountable?
The evaluation concludes that they can.
As the Lived Experience and Recovery Organisation for the programme, CAPITAL was proud to work alongside the West Sussex Drug and Alcohol Partnership and a wide range of community partners to help develop an approach where lived experience was not simply consulted, but actively shaped decision making, governance and delivery.
The evaluation now offers valuable learning, not only for those involved in the programme, but for commissioners, public sector organisations and voluntary sector partners seeking to build stronger, more collaborative ways of working.
Collaboration creates stronger outcomes
One of the clearest messages from the evaluation is that successful collaboration does not happen by chance. It is built through shared purpose, trust, openness and a commitment to recognising the different expertise that each partner brings.
Throughout the programme, statutory organisations, community groups and people with lived and living experience worked together to design, assess, deliver and oversee funded projects. This shared approach enabled decisions to be informed by professional knowledge alongside lived experience, creating a richer understanding of local need and more responsive solutions.
The evaluation identifies this as one of the programme's greatest strengths, highlighting meaningful co-production throughout every stage rather than involvement that was limited to consultation or feedback.
For organisations looking to work differently, this reinforces an important principle: collaboration is most effective when it is built into the structure of a programme, not added at the end.
Lived experience strengthens systems
The evaluation highlights that participants reported increased confidence, improved wellbeing, stronger social connections and opportunities to develop new skills through their involvement in the programme.
While these individual outcomes are significant, they also point to something wider.
When people with lived and living experience are trusted as partners, rather than viewed solely as recipients of services, they contribute insight that helps shape more effective systems. Their perspectives improve decision making, strengthen relationships and ensure services remain grounded in the realities of people's lives.
The programme also demonstrated strong alignment with the West Sussex Drug and Alcohol Partnership's strategic priorities, with funded projects contributing across areas including treatment access, co-occurring needs, peer leadership, housing stability and peer support networks.
These findings reinforce the value of placing lived experience alongside professional expertise when tackling complex public health challenges.
Innovation needs strong foundations
Community-led approaches often require flexibility, creativity and responsiveness. However, successful innovation also depends upon robust governance and clear accountability.
The evaluation highlights how structured oversight, independent lived experience review, staged funding arrangements and clear financial processes enabled projects to be delivered safely while maintaining appropriate safeguards.
This balance between flexibility and accountability is something that collaborative programmes should continue to strive for. Effective governance should create confidence, support learning and enable innovation rather than restrict it.
Learning together
One of the strengths of the evaluation is its openness about the challenges encountered during delivery.
Short funding timescales, administrative barriers and reliance on individual project leads all created pressures for some projects. Rather than presenting these as failures, the evaluation uses them as opportunities for shared learning, identifying practical ways to strengthen future programmes through earlier planning, stronger partnerships and improved readiness for delivery.
For organisations developing collaborative initiatives, this reinforces the importance of creating the conditions that allow partnerships to succeed. Building trust, supporting communities and developing shared ownership all take time, and funding and commissioning models need to recognise this reality.
Looking ahead
The evaluation concludes that co-produced community funding is both viable and replicable, offering valuable learning for future programmes across public health and wider public services.
For us at CAPITAL Impact Solutions, one message stands out above all others: meaningful collaboration delivers better outcomes.
When statutory organisations, voluntary sector partners and people with lived and living experience work together with a shared purpose, they create solutions that are more informed, more inclusive and more sustainable. Co-production is not simply a methodology. It is a way of building stronger relationships, strengthening systems and creating lasting impact.
We are grateful to everyone who contributed to this programme, including the West Sussex Drug and Alcohol Partnership, community organisations, project participants and the many people who shared their lived and living experience throughout the process.
The publication of this evaluation is more than the conclusion of a programme. It is an opportunity to reflect on what has been learned, celebrate the value of genuine partnership working and continue building collaborative approaches that place communities at the heart of positive change.
Read the full report here