Language, Power, and Co-production: How can we make it easier?
In this blog Dawn Brown from the Scottish Co-production Network explores power, language and what can we do to make it easier?
Don’t Call Me Baby…
In a previous blog, “When Co-Production is done well, everyone wins” I started to explore the tensions of language – particularly around what do we call ourselves – are we a practitioner or a service user, what about lived experience? Whilst I appreciate that sometimes we need to differentiate the people engaged, the terminology used can create barriers. In this blog, I’m further exploring power, language and what can we do to make it easier?
Thorn in my Side
There will always be tensions of power and ownership within copro – often the conversations start at the request of the organisation, and can be impacted by the level of delegated authority the commissioning department might have (so much jargon!), although with Participation Requests (PRs) under the Community Empowerment Scotland (2015) Act, community groups can now instigate the conversation. PRs are a much underused aspect of the Act, and can be a game changer in creating opportunities for improvement conversations to happen, with a strong emphasis on meaningful change in delivery being driven by community groups that have the experience to influence the services they access, knowing what changes would make that easier, smoother or more sensible. However, as it currently stands, there is no PR appeals process (yet!) and this still means the power is in the public bodies hands.
People Have the Power
Engaging and working with people with lived experience can make such a difference to how services are designed and delivered, yet this needs to be sensitively handled. All parties need to establish boundaries to keep people safe and not re-traumatise people by requesting numerous retellings of their story. We also do not expect practitioners to share their experiences or even their qualifications – yet people with lived experience can be in the position of justifying their place at the table. Sometimes, when it isn’t done well, people can feel used and it devalued in the process.
Done well, sharing that knowledge can change services for the better – creating kinder spaces for people, whilst supporting them help to improve the experiences of others in the same situation. Encouraging people to grow and utilise their experiences can enable them to move forward, being valued and appreciated, enabling them to develop new skills and build new networks. People with lived experience should not be afraid to ask how their participation will make a difference – not just for the organisation, but on a personal level.
Money, Money, Money
It’s also important that we establish ways to recompense people for their input. Prior to the restrictions of the pandemic, people would have had out-of-pocket expenses, travel costs and subsistence payments to facilitate their engagement – through the pandemic this hasn’t been supported in the same way regarding costs for connectivity and access to devices. Within copro, we need to find ways that cover people’s expenses without dehumanising them to a line on a spreadsheet, or that impact their benefits or finances. A number of organisations across the Scottish Coproduction Network have been grappling with this issue for a number of years now.
How can we work together to get it right – establishing shared values, creating a respectful and empathetic working environment to make sure we get the best out of every opportunity where people feel they are an integral part of it all?
Then there is the nettle that needs to be grasped – going beyond paying expenses and paying experience. How do we actually remunerate people for their role within coproduction? There needs to be careful thought around this issue. Payment can have implications for people claiming benefits, around tax liabilities and even the definition between contractor, employee and casual staff which can have an impact on the organisation that is wanting to pay someone. It’s a minefield. (Answers on a postcard, please!)
All Together Now
My suggested starting point for the first steps in a copro relationship is working together to set out the working agreement and ground rules – and ensuring it is revisited if and when new people become involved – whether they come from the organisation or the community. Making less assumptions that everyone is on the same page can be such a valuable time investment. Creating welcoming and caring spaces to share our experiences whether lived or professional, can support better working environments, and make the process more inclusive and gentler on all involved.
A Little Respect
Working through shared ground rules can establish a respectful relationship from the start. It can also make it easier to ask the difficult questions that come along through genuine coproduction and joint working. Taking time to discuss tensions, timelines, organisational speed of change and other issues that may come along can save the process from breaking down. When we start to work together for the better, it can unlock new ideas, create better ways of doing things and cut down on frustration.
Being in the space where you can be open either as a practitioner or someone with lived experience to say “I don’t know the answer to that” can be liberating. It can give the space for new solutions, and remove the fear of being wrong or saying something silly. Some of the best service ideas I have seen in practice have come from that moment of “hear me out, I’m not sure where this is heading” but the power to think out loud and bounce ideas with people in the same space can be such a great tool to allow exploration and innovation. When we can play with ideas together, we bring out the best in one another, and we can only be that vulnerable with people we trust.
Building these relationships creates a network of support and a community of practice that can be invaluable in shaping the communities we live, breaking down barriers and creating different ways of working that make all of our lives easier.
Also, we are not one-dimensional beings, many practitioners will be in their field of interest because of lived experience and personal interest. How do we get better at breaking out of the defined roles we can be in, and valuing the whole person – experience, interest and qualification? For me there is a core of being authentic, but also the worry that lived experience is still somehow coming with a large side order of shame and concern over being judged. Again, this is another area for us all to consider how we get better at being present, open and perhaps all being a bit kinder to one another to share our vulnerabilities.
Words
When we have established ground rules and respectful working practices, we still need to consider the language we use. Organisations can have their own jargon, and when we’re truly coproducing, we need to step away from this and make sure we all have the same understanding of the terms we use. Its another investment of time that pays dividends.
Sometimes it is common words that we may use in different ways – e.g. resilience, capacity, partnership, engagement – and stopping to actually share the definitions of these can make for an all-round happier working relationship as it can stop tensions and crossed-wires.
It also creates a level playing field where everyone has access to the same information, making people feel like they are part of a team and removes the fear of not knowing what people are talking about. There is nothing worse than losing track of the conversation by trying to work out acronyms or what things mean!
It’s Not Unusual
Whilst all of these things, put in place early can support a successful copro relationship, it can hit unexpected bumps in the road. A change of personnel in an organisation, life changes for group members, or as we’ve seen in the last few years, a pandemic completely changing our way of working can make copro a challenging space to work in, but it is so worthwhile when we all get it right and it makes such a difference to the essential services in our communities. With each change, we should all think about the barriers these may raise – new people need to have some process of induction, ensuring they are aware of the ground rules, language and ways of working so they can be supported to see the opportunities.
For online, we need to consider how we can make it easy and accessible – not everyone has the luxury of reliable connections, a suitable device and a home where they have the space to be able to join in. For some people, home is their safe space, and we need to be careful if we intrude into that and ensure there are rules of engagement for online spaces too, and for others sadly home is not a safe space and they would not be able to participate.
Dreams…
When we get all of this right – ground rules, respect, language and terminology, we can start to move into a space of equality and power sharing. When we learn about each other beyond the labels, we can work together to enable change, innovation and better services, delivered in ways that make sense to people and matter, putting people at the heart of all we do, and when we do that, it’s better all round.
