Health improvement programmes and joint investment plans: Making connections

Health improvement programmes (HImPs) and joint investment plans (JIPs) are becoming increasingly important mechanisms for modernising services. They bring new disciplines that sharpen up joint planning and provide a framework for making sure local partners• drive forward national priorities• listen to and assess the needs of local people• analyse the gaps and deficiencies in their services• are more transparent about what they are planning to do, why and how they are spending public money.This article provides an overview of these arrangements.