About C3

Mission

C3 Collaborating for Health believes that only by working together can we make it
easier to be healthy.

C3 works with many different people and organisations to promote 3 behaviour changes:
stopping smoking, eating a better diet and increasing physical activity.

Why we do what we do

C3 Collaborating for Health recognises health as being about more than health care. There are many different things that we do every day that have an impact upon our long-term health and well-being. We can all make changes to our lifestyles, but we may need assistance if these changes are to be sustainable: the environment in which we live and work may not encourage healthy choices, and health messages can be inconsistent and hard to follow.

C3 brings together policy-makers, businesses, government, teachers, health experts, young professionals, academics and others to design ways to make it easier to be healthy, and to put these ideas into action. Working together can achieve more than is possible when acting as individuals or individual organisations.

Tackling the three major risk factors – tobacco use, poor diet and lack of physical activity – can prevent the majority of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, many cancers and chronic lung disease. These diseases are responsible for the majority of premature deaths and disease throughout the world, but are often under-reported, under-acknowledged and under-funded.

C3’s work

C3 has four major areas of work, which span low-, middle- and high-income countries (for more details, see C3 activities)

• C3 organises events that bring together people from many different sectors to share ideas, develop policies and catalyse action to improve health;
• C3 works with businesses to help focus their core activities in more healthy ways;
• C3 helps to develop fresh approaches to promoting health in the workplace;
• C3 works with health professionals to change attitudes to health and health-care in their communities.

C3’s background

C3 Collaborating for Health is a registered charity (no. 1135930) and a company limited by guarantee (no. 6941278), registered in England and Wales. It was established in 2009 by Christine Hancock, former director of the Oxford Health Alliance [click here >>].

C3 continues to work closely with OxHA and with its research action programme, Community Interventions for Health [click here >>]. C3 is also a partner in 3FOUR50 [click here >>], an online initiative established by OxHA, which provides social networking opportunities for experts and activists in chronic-disease prevention, highlighting best practice from around the world. For more information about OxHA and C3, click here >>.