Making Every Contact Count (MECC) in Camden and Islington

Since 2015, SMG has proudly partnered with Camden and Islington to deliver the Making Every Contact Count (MECC) training programme.

Designed to empower staff and volunteers across the neighbouring boroughs, MECC has supported them to use everyday conversations to improve the health and wellbeing of local residents.

Over the years, we’ve delivered our MECC training to over 4,000 participants. This includes 2,500+ local authority staff, 700+ voluntary sector staff and volunteers, 500+ NHS and healthcare workers, 200+ police officers, and over 100 academic staff.

Each of these groups has played a vital role in helping their communities by integrating brief interventions into their daily work. The success of the programme is clear: evaluation shows a significant increase in participants' confidence in engaging the public about health and signposting to relevant local services for additional support. Additionally, over 95% of trainees have recommended the training to their colleagues.

To support this large-scale training effort, we developed a dedicated web platform for Camden and Islington, allowing both boroughs to manage course bookings, publicise upcoming training sessions, and provide participants with easy access to course materials and completion certificates. The platform enables staff and volunteers to continuously apply and refresh their skills.

To learn more about the training programmes available, explore our dedicated pages on Conversational Skills Training and Behaviour Change & Social Marketing. Discover how our tailored courses can help your organisation make a lasting difference in the communities you serve.