Figure 13. Role of different groups and organisations in tackling loneliness % Communities/community groups52 40 92 Charities 41 48 90 Higher mentions of 'a lot' among those GPs/the NHS 34 51 85 always/often lonely (32%) and target groups Technology e.g. social media (e.g. Facebook)245174 always/often lonely (34%) Local councils19 46 65 Central government1338 52 Those always/often lonely more likely to think all groups have 'a Employers12 44 56 lot' of a role to play than overall, with the exception of Businesses in local communities104454 communities (48%) A lot A little Source Q6: How much of a role do you think each of the following have to play in helping to reduce loneliness in the UK? Base: All UK adults aged 16+ (2,523) With prompting, participants and experts Experts stressed that the future of designing shared their views on who they see as the successful services and support for these key players in tackling loneliness in addition to organisations lay in their capability to adapt and delivering support: charities and voluntary sector expand on existing services and support which organisations; community members; ‘trusted are deemed to be working well, and build on advisors’ such as GPs and housing associations; past successes. Using brand and credibility businesses; and employers. Views of the role of from working at grass roots level to build each of these key players are discussed next, support for campaigning should enable alongside more detail on participants’ thoughts community organisations to grow public support on each group in tackling loneliness. and provide momentum around a ‘call to action’. For successful services and support to build on solid foundations, it was recommended by Role of charity and voluntary experts that forging collaborative partnerships sector organisations to fill gaps in local provision with other service Seen as the most historically linked with providers was vital. providing services and support in tackling loneliness, there was recognition from Role of community participants around prospects for growth by using best practice identified as building blocks The importance of building resilience in for future success. When presented with a list communities to tackle loneliness hinges on the of organisations and asked how much of a role successful integration of community members they had to play in tackling loneliness in the UK, into future service design. Participants highlighted communities/community groups and charities the need for support to be peer-led so that they were top of mind among the general public were able to connect with others who had been (52% and 41% saying the respective through the same difficult challenges but had organisations had a lot of a role to play).overcome them. What kind of support do people want and how do they want support delivered? 44