Title image: Embedding co-production in organisations and systems

Frameworks and tools

Home
Introduction to Section 1 What is co-production? Why co-production? Participation and co-production What does co-production look like?
Introduction to Section 2 How to start co-production Methods and techniques Spotlight on lived experience panels Spotlight on facilitation techniques Supporting people in co-production
Introduction to section 3 Advocating for co-production The policy context Frameworks and tools
Introduction to Section 4 Reflecting, evaluating and learning Tips and helpful resources for evaluation

We know from experience that community engagement is a way to build and sustain relationships between individuals, communities and public services.  These relationships are key to any co-productive process.   

When done well, it can help everyone involved to both understand and take action on the needs or issues that are collectively identified as part of the process.  

These helpful frameworks and tools can be valuable in taking a strategic approach to undertaking meaningful community engagement and co-production in different contexts.

The Scottish Approach to Service Design (SAtSD)

The Scottish Approach to Service Design (SAtSD) aspires to a shared, participatory approach to designing public services in Scotland with the people of Scotland. It is an aspiration for all public services in Scotland but recognises that organisations will be at different stages and readiness to deliver, and that change should be proportionate and manageable.

The SAtSD is an approach and not a technique in its own right, and it can work with other methodologies and frameworks. The SAtSD uses design thinking to help support the development of services that meet the needs of the people accessing them.

The approach is fully described in this Scottish Government document, describing the vision for the approach: ‘that the people of Scotland are supported and empowered to actively participate in the definition, design and delivery of their public services (from policy making to live service improvement).’

While the SAtSD is aimed at public services, it is useful for community organisations, groups, and people to understand this approach as it facilitates conversations with public bodies when beginning a co-production journey.

There are also some interesting core themes, techniques and tools that are transferrable to use within our community and voluntary sector organisations, including the seven principles, referred to as the founding principles.

The seven principles  

  1. We explore and define the problem before we design the solution. 

  2. We design service journeys around people and not around how the public sector is organised. 

  3. We seek citizen participation in our projects from day one. 

  4. We use inclusive and accessible research and design methods so citizens can participate fully and meaningfully. 

  5. We use the core set of tools and methods of the Scottish Approach to Service Design. 

  6. We share and reuse user research insights, service patterns, and components wherever possible. 

  7. We contribute to continually building the Scottish Approach to Service Design methods, tools, and community. 

The Double Diamond model

The Scottish Approach to Service Design (SAtSD) uses The Design Council’s Double Diamond model. The two diamonds split processes into ‘Discover and Define’, where people can work together to help undercover and explore the problem from a variety of viewpoints, and ‘Develop and Deliver’ where there can be many possibilities and ideas explored before refining these to the best possible solution.

This is not a quick process – time needs to be taken, particularly in the explorative stages to ensure we are not jumping to a solution too quickly. 

The Maturity Matrix

There is a recognition that different organisations will be at different stages of ability to implement the use of the the Scottish Approach to Service Design (SAtSD) approach. This set of prompt questions was developed to help assess how your organisation is getting along.

These prompts cover practice, process, and conditions. The matrix can be used to identify key action areas for improvement, to give a general indicator where the organisation is, or to celebrate and share good practice. 

The matrix uses a common grading element for each topic with further exploration of what this means in each area. The grading range goes: Not Evident, Limited, Growing, Strengthening and Embedded.

The topics listed within the matrix are:

  • Engagement with SAtSD principles, tools, methods, and community 

  • Capacity and capability for SAtSD 

  • Focus on users and the life events/problems they need the service to solve 

  • User participation in project research and design activities 

  • User inclusion and accessibility needs for participation in design 

Many of these topics are core to doing co-production well, and understanding what our public bodies are doing can be key to beginning discussions and developing good relationships that allow us to work better together.

The Co-production Star

The star was developed by Governance International as a tool for organisations to systematically plan how they can embed co-production in the way they operate as well as how co-production can be supported and developed across a range of partners. 

The toolkit enables organisations commissioning and delivering public services and their local communities to map how much co-production is already taking place, improve existing co-production approaches, identify the potential for new approaches and scale out co-production across services and communities. 

The five points of the star introduce different elements that are needed to take a strategic approach to co-production: 

  • Map It – explore existing and new forms of co-production 

  • Focus It – focus on those with the highest impact 

  • People It – using assets-based approaches 

  • Market it – in order to bring about behaviour change 

  • Grow It – within and beyond the organisation and local community

National Standards for Community Engagement  

In planning any engagement, it can be difficult to identify where to start.  The National Standards for Community Engagement introduce good-practice principles designed to improve and guide the process of community engagement.  

In total, there are seven standards which each provide detailed performance statements that everyone involved can use to achieve the highest quality results and the greatest impact. They show what a good engagement process looks like, and how to do it. 

  • Inclusion

  • Support

  • Planning

  • Working together

  • Methods

  • Communication

  • Impact

These standards can be used within any co-production process to ensure successful elements of engagement are achieved. 

Visioning Outcomes in Community Engagement (VOiCE)   

This planning and recording software assists individuals, organisations, and partnerships to design and deliver effective community engagement.  It is designed in four sections: Analyse, Plan, Do, Review. 

VOiCE was developed and supported by the Scottish Government to implement the National Standards for Community Engagement and individual and organisation accounts are free of charge for any organisations that are currently working or based in Scotland’s communities.

The International Association for Public Participation (IAP2) Core Values and  Spectrum of Public Participation  

These resources were developed from an international perspective and the purpose of the core values is to identify aspects of public participation which cross national, cultural and religious boundaries, helping to make better decisions which reflect the interest and concerns of potentially affected people and entities.  

This includes principles such as involving the public throughout the decision-making process, ensuring that the process is inclusive and respectful, and providing clear and accessible information.  You can learn more about how the core values relate to co-production in section 1 of this guide.

The spectrum, which works in association with the core values, outlines different levels of public participation.  It provides a structured approach to determine the level of engagement appropriate for various participation processes.   

Scottish Governments Participation Handbook   

This resource sets out a guide to good practice in participation work across Scottish Government.  It provides information about participatory methods and when to use them, the development of an effective participation strategy, and signposts to further resources. 

Community engagement frameworks by public and third sector agencies  

Many public and third sector agencies develop their own frameworks for community engagement to ensure transparency, accountability, and responsiveness in decision making processes.  These frameworks often include guidelines, principles, and tools for engaging with diverse communities and can be useful to for informing yourself about issues relating to specific groups and communities.