Creating a shared vision for the Hammersmith Hospital site
What do you do when the funding disappears but the problem doesn't? We helped Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, Imperial College London and the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham pivot after an announcement about delayed funding and start building a shared vision for one of London's most complex hospital sites, bringing together clinical, academic and regeneration priorities that had never quite lined up before.
Introduction
We helped three major institutions – Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, Imperial College London, and the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham – develop a shared vision for transforming the Hammersmith Hospital site in the face of significant funding challenges.
The challenge
The Hammersmith Hospital estate was struggling with critical infrastructure issues including power problems, flooding and buildings unsuitable for modern healthcare needs. Following the government’s January 2025 announcement that funding for hospital redevelopment would be delayed until at least 2035, the partners sought to explore alternative approaches rather than waiting for central funding.
The three organisations recognised the potential benefits of collaboration but lacked a unified vision for the site. Each partner brought different priorities – the Trust focused on clinical imperatives, the College on research excellence, and the Council on economic and social regeneration.
They needed support to bring these perspectives together and explore whether a collaborative approach might unlock the site’s potential sooner than government funding would allow.
Our approach
Our strategy team designed a collaborative three-month vision development process that respected each organisation’s unique needs while building a foundation for genuine partnership:
- We conducted in-depth interviews with key stakeholders across all three organisations to understand their distinct perspectives, priorities and constraints.
- We facilitated an online workshop that established a common understanding of the current challenges, including what we termed the “brutal facts” about the site’s condition and funding situation. This honesty created a foundation for authentic collaboration.
- We then led a face-to-face workshop where participants developed and refined a shared vision statement and created a prioritised action plan with specific activities.
Throughout the process, we balanced practical considerations with relationship-building. We helped the partners identify risks and develop mitigation strategies, while creating space for leadership teams to build the trust necessary for effective collaboration.
Results
The vision development process delivered several tangible outcomes:
- The partners agreed on a compelling shared vision for the site that balanced the priorities of all three organisations while creating a narrative that could help attract investment.
- We established a clear roadmap with specific actions, focusing initially on securing leadership buy-in, establishing governance structures, and beginning critical diagnostic work.
- The process helped the partners develop a shared understanding of organisational constraints and priorities, enabling more effective collaboration.
- By bringing together healthcare, academic and local government perspectives, the vision created a foundation for innovative approaches to site development that could benefit patients, researchers, students and the wider community.
