1. A Toolkit for Co-Production
Developed by Leeds Beckett University on behalf of Rape Crisis England and Wales, October 2017
Researchers: Pamela Fisher, Louise Warwick Booth, Susan Coan, Ruth Cross, Katrina Kinsella

2. A process and a disposition
If you think you already, know what co-production is, then you’re missing the point! Whilst certain guidelines/principles are common to all forms of co- production, co-production is highly context dependent
In Practice
Co-production requires engaging in an ongoing learning process: at the level of the individual, the group, and the organisation

3. Co-production flourishes in a culture that provides:
In Practice the organisational culture must provide
Security: people are supported physically and psychologically
Belonging: people feel valued members of a group
Continuity: relationships are developed over time
Purpose: people engage in meaningful activity to reach valued goals
Achievement: people reach valued goals
Significance: people feel that they matter and that they are accorded significant and status
culture
security
belonging
continuity
purpose
achievement
significance

4. Some guiding values to start with
In Practice
1. Offer people a range of incentives to engage in reciprocal relationships with each other
2. Engage peer and personal networks alongside professionals
3. Remove the distinction between the producers and consumers of services
4. Facilitate rather than deliver sessions – to draw on diverse forms of expertise
5. See people as assets with expertise
6. Work towards an equality between stakeholders in designing and delivering services
Values
1. Reciprocity & Mutuality
2. Peer Support Networks
3. Blurring Distinctions
4. Facilitating, not delivering
5. Assets
6. Equality

5. A conversation with all stakeholders about the the project’s values
In Practice
1. Jointly establish the values that should underpin the project
3. Make language accessible as people are often alienated by jargon and specialised language. This is a key barrier to co-production
4. Increase participation through opportunities for face to face and online dialogue
5. Don’t merely focus on achieving one definition of co-production. Elicit ideas about what co-production should or could be.
6. Establish an ongoing feedback loop between stakeholders
At the Outset
Stakeholder Conversations
Establish Project Values
Accessible Language
Opportunities for Dialogue
Elicit Co-production
Feedback

6. Defining the project aims and objectives through co-production
Stakeholders
Service Users
Carers
Professionals
External Organisations
Partner Organisations
Academics
In Practice
Define the aims and objectives of the project through a process of co-production
Establish the principle of parity of different forms of expertise, e.g. experiential/expertise by experience, professional, academic and so forth

7. Individually and collectively identify the barriers to co-production
Different Understandings of Co-production
Time
Place and Space
Organisational Context
External Factors
Consider Strategies to Address Barriers
In Practice
Barriers may include practical challenges related to time and geography, differing understandings of co-production, pressures on organisations, and a range of external factors
Consider how the barriers may be constructively addressed

8. Define roles and responsibilities
In Practice
How can roles be developed that mitigate the challenges whilst enhancing the creative potentials?
Consider whether roles will need to be revised at different stages in the project?
Consider whether definitions of success may need to be redefined in response to an emergent process?
What is the work?
Who does the work?
How does the work get done?
How is the work evaluated?
Co-Production

9. Be realistic about consensus and develop strategies for dissensus
Establishing the key principles for co-production is not usually too challenging
It’s in the implementation that differences of opinion are likely to occur
If there are no differences of opinion, this suggests that the project is not authentically co-productive
Accept that unanimity is impossible BUT that the joint enterprise is more important than individual differences
In Practice
Establish mechanisms, formal and informal, for dealing constructively with conflicting views and/or distress in the context of a learning environment

10. Jointly consider Reflexivity In Practice
Factors that promote or inhibit co-production
Beliefs and behaviours that inform understandings of co-production
How the participants evaluate co-production and the impact of their evaluation
In Practice
Engage in individual and collective reflexivity about your experiences of co-production.
Avoid defensiveness and embrace opportunities for mutual learning

11. Overview A process and a disposition: look critically at yourself!
Provide opportunities for individual and group reflexivity at pre-determined stages in the project
Be realistic and consider strategies for coping constructively with dissensus
Define the roles and responsibilities
Define the project aims through co-production
Ensure that all stakeholders engage in a dialogue that informs the values underpinning the project
Consider the organisational culture: how can this support co-production?
A process and a disposition: look critically at yourself!