Co-production in its widest sense

What this means 

There was some frustration in the Leading The Lives We Want To Live group that co-production still had to be a major theme. Why are services not embedding co-production? Group members shared experiences of being excluded from co-production projects for being 'too fiery' and/or saying what an organisation didn’t want to hear. Projects could get bogged down in detail and the big picture forgotten. One example was shared that an organisation advertised for a ‘co-production lead’ – but had not co-produced the job description! 

Why is co-production so important?

In the following videos, Jenny Hurst and Martin Robertson reflect on why co-production is so important:

Organisations should not be afraid of those they are meant to serve, and we need to make much more progress in mainstreaming co-production in service design and delivery. 

Bloody co-production – I don’t want to see it at the top of things we need to do! It was important 15 years ago and nothing has changed.

Why do you think co-production has been so frustratingly slow to be taken up?

In this video, Katie Clarke shares her frustrations on the slow pace of co-production being taken up by organisations:

The research 

Co-production is seen as ‘a good thing’ for many reasons (efficient use of resources, greater citizen control, sharing power, identifying gaps that are missed by organisations, and so on – all of these themes are explored elsewhere in this evidence review). However, this has been the case for many, many, many years and still progress on embedding co-production has been slow. 

Sutton (2020), in a survey of the research up to that point, identified persistent organisational challenges to effective co-production:  

1. Ensuring diversity. There is not one ‘citizen voice’, so ensuring diversity in co-production is essential, in order for the multiplicity of experience to be represented. Research suggests that Black and ethnic minoritised people, younger adults, and people on lower income are under-represented in co-production. 
2. Availability of sustainable resources. Organisations can under-estimate how resource and time intensive co-production can be, especially at the beginning of a project. If organisations see co-production as creative and unpredictable, they may be more reluctant to invest scarce funding. 
3. Achieving true accessibility. Early stages of co-production are vital in terms of building people’s confidence and supporting their skills development - so people with lived experience feel able to contribute on an equal basis to people with professional experience. Organisations may also hold meetings in buildings convenient to professionals rather than those with lived experience. 
4. Culture and risk aversion. If people feel, even slightly, that their critique of how organisations operate may result in negative consequences, such as having a service or funding withdrawn, they are unlikely to share their opinions. Professionals may also resist giving up their power, which hinders honest opinion sharing. 
5. The evidence base. Much evidence on co-production comes from evaluations of individual projects, or small-scale studies – so organisations may feel that the evidence base is too weak. 

SCIE (2019), in learning from several events from its co-production week with contributions from 120 people with lived experience, also found the following barriers: 

1. Lack of clear policies and legislation on co-production. 
2. A lack of knowledge about what co-production means. 
3. Attitudes, power sharing, and fear of the unknown. 
4. Organisational culture (which needs to be changed through senior leadership vision). 
5. Money and resources. 
6. Accessibility. 

The Centre for Ageing Better (2021) looked at how COVID-19 had created new barriers and opportunities for co-production. It found that the following were important: 

1. Break down barriers to digital engagement. Don’t assume everyone has access to, and is confident in, digital platforms such as Microsoft Teams and Zoom. Be prepared to offer one-to-one training ahead of time, so people can get comfortable. Provide someone as technical support to the project, who people can call directly on the phone. 
2. Consider alternatives to digital meetings. People might like to speak on the phone, post thoughts, keep a diary, map out their journey and send photos – or they might very well have their own ideas of how they can contribute! 
3. Identify and break down barriers in people’s lives and living environments. People may not feel comfortable with their camera on; they may prefer a certain time of day; they may wish to be in smaller digital groups. Ask people and, throughout the project, check that things continue to work for them. 
4. Adapt your delivery. People often find shorter sessions online work better than longer ones. 
5. Send information in advance. Providing a short task, or a brief to read, before the session can aid focus. 

The report concludes by saying there are now many ways of virtual engagement alongside face-to-face methods of co-production, and this will hopefully be positive in terms of people’s choice and control in the future (Centre for Ageing Better, 2021).   

You may also find it useful to refer to the sections related to co-production in More resources, better used, Sharing power as equals and Communities where everyone belongs – particularly thinking about ‘pre-production’, where discussions are started earlier with citizens over the parameters of a project, desired outcomes, and agenda setting. 

What you can do 

If you are a senior leader: Read the section on ‘What this means’ again and then reflect on all of the barriers above. Something that comes up again and again is the importance of a clear vision from senior leadership while at the same time working to empower and trust others; and that co-production should not be limited to individual projects, but a mindset running through organisations. 

What does this mean to you? How would you respond to the messages from the Leading The Lives We Want To Live group, expressing frustration about the lack of progress on co-production? What pledges could you make to address this?

Further information 

Watch  

SCIE has a webinar on breaking down the barriers to co-production. 

Read 
Oxfordshire County Council spent two years embedding co-production (rather than co-producing one-off projects). You can read an evaluation of their experience (also available in summary and easy read versions), and an accessible handbook so other organisations can learn from their methods.