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Buckinghamshire Council
Healthy Ageing Fund & Health Equity Fund Storytelling Evaluation
Healthy Ageing Fund
The Healthy Ageing Fund (HAF) supports not-for-profit organisations in
Buckinghamshire that combat loneliness and isolation, improve social
connectedness, and create a sense of purpose for older people living in the county.
The initiative aims to build capacity in the community through supporting
organisations that collaborate with others in the sector and involve older people in
the planning and delivery of their activities. The fund is sponsored by
Buckinghamshire Council and administered by Heart of Bucks Foundation.
In 2025, Buckinghamshire Council, in partnership with Heart of Bucks, commissioned
the Old Fire Station, Oxford (OFS) to lead an evaluation of HAF using its Storytelling
Evaluation Method (Storytelling). OFS provided training in Storytelling for recipients
of the fund including Age UK Buckinghamshire, Bucks Older People's Action
Group (BOPAG), Chalfont St Giles Parish Council, Invisible Folk, and Wycombe
Wanderers Foundation. These organisations collected stories from people involved
in different ways in their projects. The purpose of this process was to hear what
these projects meant to the people most closely involved in them, in their own voice
and words.
In April 2026, OFS came together with Buckinghamshire Council, Heart of Bucks
Community Foundation, the Healthy Ageing Fund partners, and others to think about
what can be learned from these stories.
Read the report here.
Health Equity Fund
The Health Equity Fund (HEF) supports not-for-profit organisations in
Buckinghamshire that address one or more aspects of the health inequalities that
impact some people from ethnic minority backgrounds living in the county. The
initiative aims to build capacity within communities affected by health inequality to
identify and implement solutions based on their own understanding of what is
needed and what works. The fund is sponsored by Buckinghamshire Council and
administered by Heart of Bucks Foundation.
In 2025, Buckinghamshire Council, working in partnership with Heart of Bucks,
commissioned the Old Fire Station, Oxford (OFS) to lead an evaluation of HEF using
its Storytelling Evaluation Method (Storytelling). OFS provided training in Storytelling
for recipients of HEF including Active in the Community, Caribbean Community
Lunch Club, Cianna’s Smile, Lindengate, and More Horizons. These organisations
collected stories from people involved in different ways in their projects. The
purpose of this process was to hear what these projects meant to the people most
closely involved in them, in their own voice and words.
In April 2026, OFS came together with Buckinghamshire Council, Heart of Bucks
Community Foundation, the Health Equity Fund partners, and others to think about
what can be learned from these stories.
Read the the report here.
