Our vision and history

Our vision

Imagine a world where people find it easier to live healthy lives…

And where there are no premature or preventable deaths from chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs).

Our history

That was the dream of our founder and current director, Christine Hancock, when she started C3 Collaborating for Health in 2009. 

Christine enjoyed an illustrious career in nursing, including many years as the CEO of the Royal College of Nursing and as president of the International Council of Nurses. But she came to realise that healthcare was intervening too late in a person’s life. This delay meant that people were suffering and dying from illnesses that could have been prevented.

In a time when healthcare was largely equated with disease and sickness, Christine made a bold decision: to shift the focus to prevention and wellbeing by addressing non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and their risk factors before people fall sick or need care.

Our name: why C3?   

We believe that preventing these diseases requires Collaboration between all of society to focus on the 3 risk factors that impact NCDs:   

1. Unhealthy eating and drinking
2. Lack of physical activity
3. Tobacco use

This includes addressing both the individual and environmental barriers to leading a healthier life.

Our work

We are pleased to see the increasing global recognition that prevention, NCDs and the risk factors are critical issues, especially with the inclusion of NCDs in the Sustainable Development Goals in 2015.

However, our work has become more urgent as the NCD epidemic escalates and health systems buckle under enormous financial demands.

Our expert staff know that only through collaboration can society hope to overcome this public-health crisis. Read more about how we help organisations find solutions through our partnership approach. 

We are known for the breadth of our work and openness to engagement with all sectors, which is evident by our past and current partners and funders. We also specialise in projects with businesses, communities, workplace health and health professionals.

Are you also concerned about how difficult it is for people to live healthy lives? We’d love to hear from you. Together, we can make it easier to live healthy lives.