A hybrid programme combining in-person exercise classes and digital health coaching has been accessed by more than 1,000 people across Sheffield and South Yorkshire, resulting in improved physical activity hours and mental health, according to outcome data from Community Wellness Services (CWS) and Holly Health.
The project is a partnership between Community Wellness Services CIC (CWS), a Sheffield-based social enterprise, and digital health platform Holly Health, star of our HealthTech 50 ranking. It was backed by a £250,000 investment from Innovate UK, awarded through the Contracts for Innovation mechanism in late 2025.
The model brings together community exercise classes, social connection, digital coaching and outcomes tracking, giving participants – many of them older adults or people living with long-term health conditions – a joined-up and sustainable route into becoming more active. Through the Holly Health app, participants build daily habits, check in on their mood and wellbeing, and get personalised content and daily nudges to help keep them motivated between sessions.
Outcome data shows the impact taking hold quickly. Within eight weeks, participants with lower starting scores reported a 44% rise in happiness scores and a quarter reduction in anxiety, alongside a 32% increase in weekly moderate exercise and a 22% rise in daily fruit and vegetable intake. Two-thirds went on to build at least one new health habit that has become automatic, from daily walks to healthier eating.
One participant reflected: “I have definitely seen an improvement in my fitness and self-confidence since starting exercising with CWS and Holly Health.”
The results, the two organisations say, underline the potential of combining grassroots community delivery with digital tools to reach people who often face barriers to taking part in exercise, and to help them sustain the habit over the long term.
Grace Gimson, co-founder & CEO of Holly Health, said: “Often in healthcare and public health services, there can be a divide between in-person community support, and digital delivery. This project has demonstrated the significant opportunities in bringing the two approaches together, to improve outcomes, sustainability, and scalability of both. We look forward to scaling the model together further, with a focus on partnering with primary care teams and public health services.”
Holly Health – digital health coaching for chronic conditions & day-to-day wellbeing
Rob Womack, Project Manager at Community Wellness Services CIC, said: “This project has been a game changer for Community Wellness Services, our now over 2,500 weekly users and some of our close partnerships within South Yorkshire and North Derbyshire. We’ve been able to deliver a range of new and innovative community based activities, including a weekly movement session in a Community Garden! Alongside our activities, more than a thousand people with multiple health conditions, isolated older people and people living in the most resilient communities, have been able to access digital provision that has helped them create healthy habits from better sleep to being more mindful. Learning from this project and our people continues to directly influence and shape our offer and provision going forwards.
“Our partnership with Holly Health has gone from strength to strength, and we’re grateful to have one of the nations leading digital health innovators working alongside us, supporting people who need it the most. Over the coming months we will be looking to share our learning as far and wide as possible, but we would be delighted for anyone to get in touch to learn more about what we’ve done and what we’re going to do.”
Dave Birds, Director at Community Wellness Services CIC, added: “We’re thrilled to be part of this initiative with Innovate UK. This project allows us to reach more people who would benefit from exercise but often face barriers to taking part. By blending our community-based approach with digital innovation, we can offer flexible, personalised support that makes a real difference to people’s health and wellbeing.”
Using an iterative co-design approach, CWS and Holly Health found that by incorporating trust-building factors from CWS into the digital coaching, such as videos and tips directly from CWS instructors, engagement, outcomes and habit building increased.
Building on these results, CWS and Holly Health plan to explore how the programme’s reach can continue to grow across South Yorkshire and beyond, with a focus on supporting more people to take part in safe, effective and enjoyable exercise.