Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) and Asset Based Workforce Development (ABWD)

Hywel Dda University Health Board intends to award a contract for the delivery of an Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) and Asset Based Workforce Development (ABWD) programme to Nurture Development via a direct award route. This programme is central to the region’s commitment to embed the Social Model for Health and Wellbeing (SMfHW) and will underpin system wide cultural change across Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire.

The work requires a provider with the rare ability to integrate ABCD and ABWD approaches, deliver large scale workforce development, and align directly with the SMfHW Delivery Plan (2025–2028). This includes delivery of leadership engagement, workforce surveys, community based insight gathering, immersive training, mentoring, and a Train the Trainer model within tight delivery timelines.

Dr Russell is the only provider able to deliver this package to the required technical standard and within the timescales available. This is due to the following factors:

• Unique specialist expertise in both ABCD and ABWD, combined with experience in system wide cultural change—expertise not available from other UK providers, who typically specialise in only one of these domains.
• Established alignment with the Hywel Dda SMfHW programme, including existing knowledge of the region’s Charter, Principles, Maturity Matrix, and ongoing workstreams, removing the need for lengthy orientation and ensuring continuity.
• Ability to mobilise immediately, which is essential to meet financial year and delivery commitments. Alternative national providers have mobilisation lead times of 6–12 months and cannot commence within the required window.
• Contextual understanding of West Wales, including rurality, population health challenges and partnership infrastructure, ensuring the programme is locally relevant and operationally feasible.
• Capacity to deliver in person across the region, and to provide culturally competent delivery tailored to local needs, including the ability to incorporate Welsh medium content where needed.

Given the urgent timelines, the technical specificity of the programme, and the absence of any alternative provider capable of delivering the integrated ABCD/ABWD model at the required scale, pace and depth, a direct award to Nurture Development represents the only viable and value for money option to fulfil the Health Board’s obligations and deliver on the regional SMfHW commitments