Care City is a not-for-profit organisation working to make health and care better for everyone — especially those who are often overlooked. Based in Barking and active across North East London (and beyond), we bring together local people, care professionals, researchers and partners to test new ideas and create practical change.

We focus on the real world — not just policies or pilot projects — and build solutions with the people who use and deliver health services and care every day. Whether that’s co-designing new digital tools, helping carers develop their careers, or exploring ways to reduce loneliness and hospital visits, our work always starts with lived experience.

But we don’t do this alone. Our Board and Community Board plays a vital role in helping to contribute and strengthen our work in the community. They are ambassadors for our work, helping to grow our impact.

What we do

We work across four core areas:

• Innovation and technology: Testing and scaling tools that improve lives, such as virtual care and remote monitoring
• Workforce development: Creating new roles, training, and career pathways for health and care staff
• Community-led design: Involving people with lived experience at every stage of our work
• Research and evaluation: Learning from real-world impact to guide smarter decisions — locally and nationally

These strands often overlap. Our strength lies in combining them in ways that respond to local challenges, while building learning that others can use.

We’re known for working across boundaries — linking up local government, the NHS, the voluntary sector, and communities to make change that sticks.

How we’re funded

We are a social enterprise, which means we reinvest any surplus into our mission. Our funding comes from a mix of project grants, commissioned work, and partnerships. We’ve worked with a wide range of funders — including local authorities, NHS bodies, foundations, and national innovation programmes — to deliver work that has both local impact and national relevance.

We’re also proud to contribute to national conversations through evaluations, white papers, and shared learning — helping shape future care with grounded insight from real communities.

Our Partners

We collaborate across sectors — from local councils and NHS trusts to academic institutions, charities and technology providers. Our partnerships are built on trust, openness and a shared ambition to do better for the people we serve.

What sets us apart is our ability to connect different voices — residents, frontline staff, senior leaders — and build bridges that turn good ideas into practical change.