Organisation sought to deliver framework for integrating physical activity into health and care systems

The Active Partnerships National Organisation (APNO) has launched an invitation to tender (ITT)  for an important area of work that focuses on integrating physical activity pathways into health and care systems.

The APNO is seeking to work in collaboration with a partner organisation to help support people with long-term health conditions to become more active.  The requirement is for a framework and toolkit to be created so as to provide consistent advice and guidance for a variety of settings and audiences, and to enable frictionless physical activity pathways to be integrated across health and care.

The framework that’s developed will be available to and shared with a variety of partners, including the Active Partnerships network and national and local physical activity partners.

The ITT is for the development of an operational framework and tools, to ensure that physical activity, and its underpinning infrastructure, is fit for purpose and fully supported.  This work will be part of a solution-focused approach which enables co-design of conditions for change and it will involve the Active Partnerships network, as well as other local and national providers, to ensure a place-based approach. The framework should prioritise helping people with, or at risk of, a long-term health condition accessing physical activity.

Annie Holden, the Active Partnerships National Organisation’s Strategic Lead for Health, described the opportunity in more detail: “We are looking to work with a partner organisation that can develop, manage and deliver a high-quality framework which will integrate frictionless physical activity pathways into health and care. We are looking for applicants to clearly outline their approach and the methods they would use, and we want them to demonstrate how they would adopt a solution-focused approach to the co-design and development of this framework, as well as being mindful of its long-term sustainability.”

Talking about the importance of this area of work, Annie added: “Physical activity remains chronically underutilised within the NHS, and moving forward it needs to be framed as a core part of our health and care systems, as inactivity is a key risk factor for poor health. However, to do this we need to ensure that we improve the pathways between health and organised activity, by reducing variability and providing consistent quality assured models of delivery which are trusted by health and care colleagues.

“Right now, we have a significant opportunity to shift the balance of care from acute to community, which would reduce the pressure on the NHS and social care services and our chosen partner could help to support the important work in this area.”

To find out more about this opportunity, you can take a look at the background information, FAQs and the documentation pack, and you can download the ITT application form here.

The deadline for submitting a tender is 12.00pm on Friday 8 December 2023. The applications will then be assessed by a panel and the top three applicants will be invited to an interview which will take place on Monday 18 or Tuesday 19 December. It is hoped that the successful organisation will start working with the Active Partnerships National Organisation and its partners in January 2024.

To find out more about how Active Partnerships are involved in this area of work, and the partners that they work with, you can read Annie’s blog which was published after a recent network-wide event in Manchester.