Population Health Academy Leadership Development Programme

Last Friday (11 July 2025) saw the end of the third presentation of the Lancashire and South Cumbria Population Health Academy’s Leadership Development Programme. It concluded with a joint session of all three groups with a keynote address from Pedro Delgado, vice president of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI).

All the graduates of the programme - including colleagues from the Integrated Care Board (ICB), trusts, primary care and, for the first time, a local authority - were awarded the title of Lancashire and South Cumbria Population Health Fellow. This brings the total number of graduates of the programme to around 160 since the Population Health Academy was established in May 2022.

Professor Andy Knox, the ICB’s medical director, said: “It’s been a brilliant year with so much learning, beautiful relationship building, leadership development, fresh ways of seeing, new hope, exciting ideas, innovative projects and determined actions for change. The social movement builds.

“Together we believe that we really can work with our communities and partners to improve population health, tackle age-old inequities and build a kinder and fairer society for all. It is utterly joyful work and I feel so grateful to get to be a part of it.”

Pedro Delgado said: “People driven change;  a commitment to serving; to partnering with communities to close long-established equity gaps; growth; the building of connections; of a purpose-driven movement; the blend of technical and adaptive; kindness; joy - that’s some of what I observed and felt as I joined the three-year celebration of the Population Health Leadership Academy. It was a privilege to have spent time with you all.”

It is anticipated that the next presentation of the Lancashire and South Cumbria Population Health Academy’s Leadership Development Programme will start later in the 2025/26 financial year.