SP is a healthcare approach that connects people to non-medical support in their community to improve their health and wellbeing.
• England was the first to embed SP into national health policy through the 2019 NHS Long Term Plan, with its inclusion in the 2025 strategy, the model is now gaining global momentum, adopted by over 25 countries to improve well-being.
• The Social Return on Investment (SROI) shows that every £1 put in SP can generate between £2.14 to £8.56 worth of social value.
• Since 2019, over 2.6 million cases have been referred by GPs to Link Workers for empowering individuals through SP treatments.
We selected LWs as our primary user in the service, as they play a critical role in delivering the service throughout the entire journey.
Who are LWs?
LWs also know as social workers, social prescribers, etc... are the people who deliver the SP service on the ground by getting referrals from healthcare staffs and guiding individuals to suitable community activities.
• LWs are unique to the UK’s SP infrastructure, acting as a bridge between GPs, patients, and the community sector.
• There are currently more than 3,500 LWs in the UK, with targets to grow this number to 6,500 by 2030 and 9,000 by 2037.
The Importance of LWs
LWs are cross-system touchpoints
LWs span the most touch points and connect the broadest range of stakeholders in the SP system, making them central to driving system-wide change.LWs have rich local knowledge
With deep local knowledge, LWs unlock underused resources and foster stronger, more connected communities.LWs help save additional costs
Utilising LWs is 37% cheaper than GP appointments and 89% cheaper than A&E visits.LWs offer relational human trust
LWs provide the kind of human trust that machines can't emulate. Their emotional presence and ongoing relationships meet social and psychological needs that data alone cannot address.
Despite their potential, these values are not being fully realised, due to the following systemic challenges…
Current SP Model: Reactive SP
It typically begins after a problem has already appeared.
What if people could proactively access SP: preventing early stage mental health challenges and strengthening wellbeing for both healthy and unwell individuals?
Mature SP Model: Proactive + Reactive SP
Proactive Social Prescribing focuses on reaching people before problems take hold.
SP struggles to show meaningful preventive outcomes due to systemic dependence on medical channels and the operational disempowerment of LWs.
Design Pathway
To deliver holistic solutions, we developed both a future strategy and current interventions, using service design and transition design tools to define two possible pathways towards the final outcome:
A systemic strategy
Our strategic outcome is a staged vision that reimagines SP as Social Navigation by 2040, when preventive care is integrated into daily life. The strategy is structured around the diversification of LW roles. We propose that the maturity and reach of SP will expand as LWs transition from invisible and reactive to visible, embedded, and eventually irreplaceable agents of preventive care.An operational Intervention
A simple, trust-building set of tools enabling LWs to initiate warm, proactive conversations in public spaces (such as community centre, coffee shops, library, etc…).
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From SP to Social Navigation
Our strategic outcome is a staged vision that reimagines SP as Social Navigation by 2040, when preventive care is integrated into daily life.
The strategy is structured around the diversification of LW roles. We propose that the maturity and reach of SP will expand as LWs transition from invisible and reactive to visible, embedded, and eventually irreplaceable agents of preventive care.
Storyboard in 2040
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From Invisible to Irreplaceable The Future Roles of LWs
This graphic visualises the evolution of LW roles in a future where SP transforms into Social Navigation, a proactive focused prevention care model.
As the system matures, roles move from reactive to proactive, from invisible to visible, and eventually diversify into a wide positions.
LWs are no longer just “prescribers”, they’ve evolved into a diverse set of proactive roles across care, community, and strategy. Now embedded in daily life and local decision making, they form the backbone of Social Navigation, a mature, proactive prevention system.
What did we design
We co-designed a toolkit set with LWs to support proactive engagement in everyday community settings. The tools help LWs open up conversations, build trust, and initiate early support, enabling them to show up as proactive practitioners when engaging with individuals in community hubs. They also allow LWs to capture meaningful data and demonstrate the value of preventive care.
Each component in the toolkit set supports a specific moment along the conversation journey, engaging not only LWs but also the individuals and colleagues involved. Together, these tools guide the interaction from pre-conversation preparation, through in-conversation engagement, to post-conversation reflection and follow-up.
Main Features
Proactive Relationship Building
The toolkit empowers LWs to initiate early, low pressure conversations in everyday settings, helping individuals feel supported before challenges escalate.Emotion-Led, Non-Medical Dialogue
With relaxed, non-clinical prompts focused on feelings and daily experiences, the toolkit lowers barriers to sharing and creates a more human conversation environment.Personal and Human Connection
Handwritten elements and an LW-friendly visual identity make the interaction feel warm, approachable, and personalised strengthening trust from the outset.Interactive and Co-Created Engagement
By combining talking with writing and reflection, the toolkit transforms the exchange into an interactive, two way process rather than a traditional support conversation.Reflection and Shared Learning System
Beyond supporting conversations, the toolkit helps LWs reflect on each interaction and share insights with colleagues, reinforcing a stronger, evolving support system.
Toolkit's Impact Measurement
Numbers & Demographic
Collect basic data and info to understand who is engaging, how, and where we need to level up.LW Surveys
Survey reflections on toolkit use to understand whether it sparks conversations, builds trust, and leads to real follow up actions.Public Wellbeing Impact
ONS4, a standard metric used in Social Prescribing to measure changes in wellbeing, will collect four subjective public wellbeing questions.Case Study Insights
Collect real world examples of stories and other qualitative evidence showing the toolkit in action.
This strategy moves beyond fixing individual services, proposing a long-term pathway from everyday practice to systemic change and a shift in mindsets.
By supporting proactive care at the operational level and building shared infrastructure over time, it reimagines social prescribing as a collective transition: from reactive systems to proactive care and from isolated services to shared futures.
Ultimately, this work is about reshaping how we live and how we care, together.
Research needs interpretation, not just evidence
I learned that research doesn’t speak for itself. Making sense of data by questioning how and why it is framed became as important as collecting it.
Service design works within constraints
I realised service design operates inside policy, institutions, and power structures. Not every problem can be redesigned, and not every solution benefits from being more digital.
Tools are there to support thinking
I stopped following tools as a fixed process. Instead, I used them when something felt unclear, combining methods to reveal gaps and blind spots.
Creativity is a way of seeing
I learned that creativity in service design is less about form making and more about reframing problems and challenging assumptions.
Narrative shapes understanding
I realised the same system needs different narratives in different contexts. Storytelling helped translate complexity without oversimplifying it.
This project has been my proudest contribution at RCA.
It wouldn’t have been possible without my teammates Sooyoung Oh and Yaqi Tang, and the thoughtful guidance of my tutor, John Makepeace. I’m also grateful to all collaborators for their generous advice and support.
Thank you for reading through! I hope it offers a clear view into how I think and design :)
