Title image: What is co-production and why is it important?

What is co-production?

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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

It is hard pin to write down exactly what makes co-pro what it is and even those of us working in the field find it challenging to arrive at an agreed definition.

There is a tricky balance to be struck as it is important to recognise it as a distinct concept, however any definition needs to be open and wide enough to recognise when people are doing things in a co-productive way, even if they don’t quite meet all the criteria yet.  

Defining co-production

In thinking about definitions, we took a look at existing guidance and policy documents to see what kinds of words are used to describe co-production, as well as related and wider concepts adjacent to co-pro, such as participation, community engagement, and participatory budgeting.  This word cloud shows a range of common concepts which are hopefully helpful as a starter for ten in defining co-production in practice. 

 

Word cloud image: truly collaborative, shared roles and goals, supportive, open communication, fair, agreed scope, transparent decision making, context aware, evaluated, empowering, creative, inlcusive, flexible.

 

There are also other terms used such as co-creation, co-design, co-commissioning – all of which have discrete meanings, but are often used interchangeably with ‘co-production’. In brief: 

  • Co-creation is where participants (such as service providers, service users and their families, community members) are involved in identifying the overall vision and aims for the project, organisation or service – this can also lead into more detailed co-design. 

  • Co-design is where participants are involved in more of the detailed design for the project, organisation or service 

  • Co-commissioning is where participants are involved in informing or shaping how services are commissioned 

These elements can form a significant part of an overall co-production process and can indeed act as stepping stones to full co-production.  

All these words and terms help us to identify what co-production looks like and the kind of processes that it supports but bringing these together, we find the following specific definitions helpful.  

“Co-production means delivering public services in an equal and reciprocal relationship between professionals, people using services, their families and their neighbours.”
- New Economics Foundation  

“It is about involving people not only in the rowing and the steering of the boat, but also in actually building it.”
- Mr Sandy Watson OBE DL, Chairman NHS Tayside 

 

We produced this helpful animation to talk you through the basics of co-production.