‘Women’s Health Matters’ Grant

Improving Health Services for Women and Girls

Background and Context

Does your community-led group or organisation want to play a direct role in shaping health service improvements for women and girls in Cardiff and across Wales? Cardiff Third Sector Council (C3SC), with funding from Cardiff and Vale University Health Board (C&V UHB), is leading a community engagement project focused on the health needs of women and girls. We want to work alongside Cardiff/Vale-based third sector organisations and community groups who are working with women and girls facing disadvantage and whose views are under-represented.

This initiative forms part of the Women’s Health Plan for Wales, a ten-year programme developed by NHS Wales. The Plan recognises that, although women and girls make up over half of the population, their health needs have historically been undervalued and under-resourced, and that health inequalities are shaped by wider social and economic factors. This project aims to help address unjust and preventable health inequalities by ensuring that women are girls are heard, their health needs are properly understood, and equitable access to healthcare services is improved.

Project Aims

This project aims to improve health service provision for women and girls in Cardiff across eight priority areas, and specifically seeks to:

Improve awareness of and engagement with the Women’s Health Plan for Wales amongst women, girls, and the organisations that support them.
Gain a clear understanding of what women and girls across Cardiff know and experience in relation to their health needs and of their preferences for how services are communicated and delivered.
Identify gaps in current service provision and any barriers and develop targeted, community-led solutions in response.

Drawing on the evidence of existing good practice and gaps, the project will develop targeted, practical actions to improve access to services, quality of care, and health outcomes for all women and girls.

Who Should Apply?

This opportunity is open to Cardiff-based third sector organisations and community groups who are members of C3SC and work directly with women and girls. We are particularly seeking applications from grassroots organisations who engage with one or more of the following groups:

Young women and girls aged 16–25

Older women aged 65 and over

Women from ethnic minority backgrounds

Disabled women

LGBTQ+ women and girls

Unpaid carers

Available Funding

Six grants of £1,250 each will be awarded. Funding is intended to support organisations to carry out meaningful community engagement, including the facilitation of focus groups and reporting on the findings, and collectively cover all the groups listed above.

What Funded Organisations Will Be Expected to Do

Each successful applicant will be expected to:

June 2026 – attend an in-person co-production workshop to plan engagement activities in collaboration with other funded organisations.

15 June to 21 August 2026. – organise focus groups to engage with a minimum of 50 women and girls in total

Share updates and findings with C3SC at agreed intervals during the project

August 2026 – attend an in-person post-project workshop to reflect on and share learning from the engagement activity with other funded groups and explore opportunities to strengthen and sustain delivery.

By 25 September – submit a final report to C3SC.

Outcomes and Impact

By contributing to this project, funded organisations will play a direct role in shaping health service improvements for women and girls in Cardiff and across Wales.

C3SC will

provide – and support organisations/groups to complete – the relevant forms,

regularly check-in with participating organisations/groups, and

collate and analyse the findings, quotes and case studies submitted by all participating organisations/organisations and produce a summary report.

The report will be shared with the C&V UHB Women’s Health Steering Group to inform the delivery of the Women’s Health Plan for Wales. All participating organisations will also receive a copy of the report and be invited to participate in further discussions/developments.

How to Apply