Edinburgh Co-production Roadshow

Events

Edinburgh Co-production Roadshow

Date: 14.03.2011

Location: Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh

Achieving more for more in public services

The Edinburgh Co-production Roadshow was hosted jointly by NESTA, nef, Scotland's Futures Forum 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.

Co-production : A growing movement

David Boyle, fellow at the new economics foundation opened the day with a vibrant definition of what co-production is, illustrated by a powerful series of examples. Coproduction, he said, "means delivering public services in an equal and reciprocal relationship between professionals, people using services, their families and their neighbours. Where activities are co-produced in this way, both services and neighbourhoods become far more effective agents of change". It is about change and a shift of power.

Gerry Marr set co-production firmly into the context of Scottish public services and highlighted how the current pattern of spending is inefficient and unsustainable. He said that there is a need to fundamentally rethink how we deliver and what we are delivering and that this will result in redefining the boundaries between public service, individual and community rights and responsibilities. He concluded that we must not ask ourselves how to survive, but rather how to thrive. Coproduction, he said, will provide us with some of the answers.

Co-production working in practice

The workshops provided a vibrant insight into how co-production works in practice.

Louise MacDonald talked about the work of Young Scot in co-producing the Scottish Youth Commission on Alcohol and about an innovative reward scheme to encourage young people to be active citizens.

Keith Etherington and Angela Halpin, from In Control Scotland offered a perspective on how Co-production can be embedded in self directed care and on the difference this makes in the lives of service users.

Sam Hopley talked about the role of timebanks as vehicles for co-production bringing examples from his experience as CEO of Timebanking UK and from his work at Camden's Holy Cross Centre Trust.

George Thomson and Dave Moxham's workshop focused on the importance of leadership to support the ambition of system wide change. They shared the learning from VDS' and STUC's joint work to develop a charter around co-production.

The extremely high level s of interest and participation in this event give a picture of the growing energy and momentum around Co-production in Scotland. To join the Scottish group in the Coproduction Practitioners network visit http://coproductionnetwork.com