Loneliness can affect anyone, at any stage in life. Tackling loneliness has therefore always demanded a collaborative approach, from community to research, from national to global approaches and understanding.

How it all began

The Campaign started off as a collaboration between five organisations in 2011. True to the way it was created, it never has been its own entity, hosted first by Independent Age, and since 2021 by the What Works Centre for Wellbeing.

Our collaborative approach is continuing now as we work closely with the Centre for Loneliness Studies at  Sheffield Hallam University to help them embed the website and other assets as the Campaign moves on from its current form at the end of April 2024.

The learning and knowledge on our website and in our publications has always been informed and shaped by the learning and knowledge out there in the civil society sector and among researchers. So it feels right for us to be working on this final collaboration to ensure these assets can continue to be readily accessible for the sector as a whole as a commonly held legacy.

Memorable collaborations and partnerships

There are so many examples of what we have achieved through collaboration, but some of the most memorable over the last 13 years include:

There are also hundreds of organisations we have spoken with, learned from, worked alongside or shared a platform with over the years. This includes Eden Communities, Jo Cox Foundation, Marmalade Trust, Rural Coffee Caravan, British Red Cross (NI) and many, many more.

Our funders have, of course, made an incredible difference: Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (UK), Independent Age, National Lottery Community Fund, Mercers, DCMS and our most recent funder Astra  Foundation.

A network of inspirational academics

There is also a breadth of academics who have inspired us and who we have worked with in various ways, so many more beyond this list. They have advised us, written blogs for us, and we have supported and contributed to some of their research bids and projects. They have been driving the development of the evidence base on loneliness and the Campaign could not have done its work without them:

  • Professor Manuela Barreto, University of Exeter
  • Dr Lorna Wang, University of Surrey
  • Dr Lucy Osler, Cardiff University
  • Professor Helen Chatterjee, UCL
  • Dr Lily Verity, University of Manchester
  • Professor Pamela Qualter, Manchester Institute of Education
  • Dr Claire Goodfellow, University of Glasgow
  • Dr Bridget Bryan, Kings College London
  • Dr Mantasha Firoz, Goa Institute of Management
  • Professor Christina Victor, Brunel University London
  • Professor Thomas Astell-Burt, University of Wollongong Australia
  • Professor Julianna Holt-Lonstad, Brigham Young University
  • Dr Nia Morrish, University of Exeter
  • Dr David McDaid, LSE
  • Dr Michelle Lim, Swinburne University of Technology
  • Professor Jenniger Lau, Queen Mary University
  • Professor Andrea Wigfield, Sheffield Hallam University
  • Professor Sara Ryan, Manchester Metropolitan University
  • Jane Maddison, University of York
  • Professor Johanna Badcock, University of Western Australia
  • Dr Timothy Matthews, University of Greenwich
  • Dr Hannah Durrant, Wales Centre for Public Policy
  • Dr Jessica Rees, Kings College London
  • Dr Emily Long, University of Glasgow
  • Dr Anne Kathrin Fett, City University
  • Professor Mathias Lasgaard, South Denmark University
  • Dr John Ratcliffe, Kings College London
  • Dr Heather McClelland, University of Glasgow

Thank you for being part of our shared legacy

None of these lists are exhaustive and we are incredibly grateful to every person and organisation that we collaborated with over the years. You can read more about our approach and what the Campaign to End Loneliness achieved over the last 13 years in this report written by Kate Jopling – Exploring the legacy of the Campaign to End Loneliness.