Excellence in Collaboration and Partnerships

Summary of work

Over 4 million people in the UK live with diabetes, 10% of which have type 1 diabetes (T1D). Given the predominance of type 2 diabetes, low public understanding of the differences between the two and a tendency for media to ‘blame’ individuals for their diagnosis, the T1D community felt unheard, misrepresented and isolated, with no platform to share its voice.

Inspired by the idea of emulating ‘TED talks’, Talking About Diabetes (TAD) event was created; talks from seven high-profile speakers with T1D aimed to inspire a large audience to think positively about T1D and seek optimum control over their condition to achieve their goals.

TAD 2016 attracted 200 people and was oversubscribed within three days. In addition to networking on the day, social media conversation was initiated using the event hashtag #TADtalk2016, which became a ‘trending topic’ on Twitter with >2,000 posts reaching >619,000 people.

After the event, 45% of attendees felt more connected within a local network. Over two-thirds of attendees felt more positive about living with or supporting someone with diabetes and almost 50% of attendees living with T1D felt more motivated to achieve their goals. By popular demand, TAD 2017 was organised for 22 April 2017.

Judges' comments

What was really impressive about this team is that they took an established formula, re-shaped it to suit the patient’s needs, and executed it really well. The project showed clear evidence of impact along with smart objectives and clear insights.