Blog Post

Lankelly Chase commissions new national centre of excellence

First Stop Design • Jul 25, 2017
Lankelly Chase - Synergi Logo

source: Lankelly Chase Foundation
published: 5 July 2017

Lankelly Chase Foundation has commissioned Queen Mary University of London, the University of Manchester and Words of Colour Productions to establish an independent centre of excellence on ethnic inequalities, severe mental illness and multiple disadvantage.


With a strategic award of £1,245,000, the Synergi Collaborative Centre will deliver a five-year national programme, focused on working towards the transformation of health services for ethnic minority people with severe mental illness.

Over the five years the centre will:

  1. Collate, interpret and communicate data and knowledge on ethnic inequalities in mental health and related systems, and how this relates to severe and multiple disadvantage.
  2. Bring together the full range of stakeholders through models of co-production, and co-curation of knowledge, to develop and implement solutions.
  3. Place lived experience narratives centre stage.
  4. Use creative, digital and evidence-based platforms to share these narratives.
  5. Become a focal point for action, leading to systems change regarding ethnic inequalities in mental health services.
  6. Identify opportunities to reduce and prevent ethnic inequalities to improve the health of individuals and populations.
The centre will take a collaborative approach, using the principles of co-production of knowledge and a creative mix of robust research methods.

Cathy Stancer, Director, Equalities and Rights, Lankelly Chase, said:
Lankelly Chase’s area of concern is why people dealing with the most severe problems get the least effective support, often resulting in catastrophic outcomes. Through the many projects we have supported, we know that ethnic inequality in mental health remains an intractable issue needing new energy, creativity and collaboration. The creation of the Synergi Collaborative Centre follows several years of engagement with ethnic minority-led organisations who agreed that the way evidence, practice and communities connect is a crucial step towards changing systems.

Download full Press Release (pdf file) >

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