Cardiff Co-Production Roadshow

Events

Cardiff Co-Production Roadshow

Date: 11.03.2011

Location: Cardiff Millennium Centre

Achieving more for more in public services

The Cardiff Co-production Roadshow was hosted jointly by NESTA, nef, Spice and the Coproduction Practitioners Network. The event was part of a series of 5 Roadshows showcasing examples of people powered public services across the country and providing a platform for practitioners and decision makers to share experiences on achieving more in public services.

Video

We asked the attendees what co-production means to them and what they gained from the event.

Co-production : A growing movement

Philip Colligan, Executive director of NESTA's Public Services Lab, set out the potential for co-production to provide an answer to some of the challenges that our public services face. Traditional services, built on a paternalistic model, are often "done to" people rather than with them. This neglects the skills, capabilities and time of people who are receiving the services and is a fundamentally inefficient way of addressing social needs. Co-production is grounded on the recognition of the assets that people and communities can bring to public services and starts from the premise of helping people to realise their potential.

As the limits of traditional public services become more apparent in the face of the multiple challenges they face, the co-production movement is growing. Drawing from NESTA's learning and experience, Philip indicated that bringing co-production closer to the mainstream of public services will require shifts in commissioning practice, a solid body of evidence on the value generated by co-produced approaches, a culture shift among service professionals and the will to overcome a powerful incumbency bias across public services and make space for new and more effective approaches.

Megan Mathias highlighted examples of co-production in Wales and called for the development of a Welsh model for co-production. She talked about the need to radically change systems for the oversight and regulation of public services in order to bring co-production to the mainstream. She reminded the audience of the important role that people can play when they work to change the system from the inside and said that we need to un-learn traditional approaches and re-learn to develop services that are built upon the skills and assets that people and communities have to offer.

Megan Mathias' presentation (PDF 586Kb)

Co-production working in practice

The workshops provided vibrant examples of co-production in practice and offered a platform for discussions and shared learning between delegates.

David Pugh talked about how Creation Development Trust rebuilt community cohesion in Blaengarw, reduced anti-social behaviour and set up two social enterprises through timebanking.

Sandra Jones shared the experience of developing My Life My Way - a peer support group for older people who want to live their lives to the full, and Denbighshire Nightrider - a volunteer operated service which uses spare capacity in the Council's bus fleet in the evening to provide low cost transport to elderly residents enabling them to lead more active and connected lives .

Tris Dyson and Becky Booth set the SPICE model in the framework of co-production's core value and shared their experiences of using timebanking as a tool to engage people in co-producing public services.

Delegate feedback and reflections at the end of the day conveyed the sense that a movement is building around co-production, in Wales and nationally. People are interested in connecting with each other, hearing about innovative practice and exploring how good ideas can be spread and replicated.

Read the key issues emerging from the roadshow (DOC 70Kb)