Our Story
Here’s a bit of our history and the story behind how we’ve become the UK’s largest digital social prescribing provider.
Elemental was established by former Community Development workers to scale and measure the uptake and impact of the social prescribing movement.
When Jennifer Neff, and Leeann Monk- Ozgul met in 2013, they were both working in Community Development.
The pair found much in common, including a growing frustration that not everyone in the community had the same opportunities to access health, education and welfare services.
“The people who needed these services the most were not engaging with them”.
A talk by the late educationalist Ken Robinson sparked the duo into action. “He said that when you find your passion, anything is possible because you are in your Element,” says Neff. That was the catalyst that led the pair to set up Elemental Software. The two women developed a platform for “social prescribing” – the idea that doctors and nurses can refer people to local, non-clinical services, often provided by the community and voluntary sector.
When the pair came second in a start-up pitching competition, the winner, Professor Maurice Mulvenna of Ulster University, donated his £500 prize and told them that their idea was better than his. The lack of technological background has not held them back. In fact, it may have even helped.
Today the software is used across the UK, linking GPs, local authorities, housing associations, prison services, education and community and voluntary sectors. The company employs 30 staff at its offices in Derry city centre and is on track to double in size in the next two years. Its founders say they won’t move despite being regularly told they should be closer to their main customer bases in London, Manchester and Cardiff.
If you have drive and passion, you’ll get there. The people who needed these services the most were not engaging with them.
We believe it’s our combined experience of working in the community paired with a powerful vision to create connections and improve lives through digital solutions.We know that social prescribing works and we want to help gather the evidence and make it every day practice with the vision that one day it will be as common to be offered an introduction to a gardening club as it would be medication.
Watch the video to uncover where we started, our successes to date, and where we want to be in the future.
To bridge the gap between health and social care and communities by better connecting people, places and resources in a shared vision that ensures that no one is left behind
No health inequalities
We are Elemental, the social prescribing people. We are a team off passionate, caring and talented people who genuinely care about empowering effective decision making within communities
Our team has been at the forefront of digital social prescribing and community-powered health and wellbeing for decades.
We configure our platform to suit your needs so let’s discuss your plans for empowering communities and explore if and how we can help.
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Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Work Hours
Monday to Friday: 7AM - 7PM
Weekend: 10AM - 5PM
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Someone’s health and wellbeing can be affected by where they live, what they do for a living, their income or their early childhood background experiences. This in turn leads to some stark, and often avoidable health differences.
We founded Elemental to play an active part in halting health inequalities through the social prescribing movement. Our technology helps communities to be better connected, build resilience and bring real precision to the measurement of the impact of community investment.
We work with organisations that want to continue to invest in their communities but want to be much better at measuring impact and outcomes.
We believe this is a powerful route out of health inequality.
CEO & Co-Founder, Jennifer Neff
COO & Co-Founder, Leeann Monk-Ozgul
