There’s been a lot of commentary around the new model ICB blueprint,  most of it focused on what’s being “stripped away” from commissioning. But what if we flipped the narrative?

Less function doesn’t have to mean less value. In fact, fewer functions could be an opportunity to slow down, gather better insights, and use them to shape better decisions.

Less fire-fighting, more strategic thinking. But only if we protect and prioritise the right roles.

The heart of it: public involvement as a core enabler

The blueprint is clear on this: public involvement is not a bolt-on. It shows up across the document as a critical enabler of smarter, more equitable commissioning. There’s explicit recognition that involvement must go beyond formal consultation, and towards co-production, design thinking, and continuous engagement.

Music to our ears.

It signals a shift from tick-box exercises to meaningful, strategic involvement, right from the start of the commissioning process. And not just with the usual suspects, but with underserved communities, using trusted partners and targeted approaches.

That means patient and public feedback will be expected to directly inform:

• forecasting and modelling
• priority setting
• evaluation and resource allocation

It also ties public involvement to statutory duties, like advancing equality and reducing health inequalities. And it calls for ICBs to build capability and invest in their people.

All of this sounds great. But there’s a catch…

Compassion matters: people make all this possible

Let’s not forget, these shifts are happening against a backdrop of real anxiety for NHS colleagues.

Talk of 50% cuts to ICB staff hits hard, especially for those whose roles already focus on public involvement, engagement, and early-stage service change. We don’t want to gloss over that. People are understandably worried, and they deserve more than reassurance, they need recognition.

Because here’s the thing: this blueprint proves the value of what those colleagues do every day. (Here at Stand we already know how brilliant involvement and communications professionals are!)

It validates the work of engagement teams, involvement specialists, and communications professionals who’ve long championed meaningful relationships with the public. The challenge now is to make sure that capability isn’t lost in the process of “streamlining”.

We know that talent retention is key to stability and success during this reform.

Here’s the bit that surprised us. While the blueprint talks extensively about involvement, strategic communications barely gets a mention.

Yes, “communications” is lumped into corporate services, with a vague nod to “streamlining and delivering at scale”. But there’s nothing about strategic narrative building, nothing about campaigns or behaviour change, nothing about helping people understand why change is needed and what it means for them.

That’s a huge miss.

Strategic communications isn’t just posters and press releases. It’s how we build trust in a new system. It’s how we explain complexity simply. It’s how we respond to misinformation and support public conversations that are open, honest, and human.

If ICBs are meant to lead population-level transformation, prevention over treatment, digital-first care, whole-system redesign, then communications needs to be at the table.

Not just delivering messages but shaping them. Not just reacting to change, but helping to lead it.

So what now?

If you’re working in public involvement, strategic communications, or engagement, you’re not peripheral to this new model. You’re central to it.

But we need to push for:

• Early and continuous involvement (not just when decisions are made)
• Strategic comms as a key leadership capability, alongside analytics, clinical leadership, and commissioning
• Capacity building and investment in the people who know how to do this work well
• Stronger partnerships with local authorities and the voluntary sector, bringing in expertise and understanding of communities that the NHS can’t always reach alone

This is a chance to do things differently

The model ICB blueprint isn’t perfect. But it does open the door to a more thoughtful, inclusive, prevention-focused NHS.

To get there, we’ll need more than new structures. We’ll need a shift in mindset, one that sees patients, carers, and communities as co-creators, not just consultees.

One that values strategic communications and engagement as critical to making the system work, not nice-to-haves to be cut.

We urge ICBs to be pragmatic and avoid brain drain of those very specialist and experienced engagement teams, involvement specialists, and communications professionals – they have never been so needed!

Because ultimately, transformation isn’t just about what you change. It’s about how you bring people with you.

And that starts with listening. And communicating. And involving, early and often.

Blog by: Caroline Latta