Client involvement and co-production
Sitra is giving a lot of thought to how we can develop our work in client involvement. We are looking at our own practices in involving clients in our organisation and considering how this can be developed, alongside creating products and services to enable providers and commissioners to increase the participation and involvement of clients.
We are particularly interested in the concept of involvement being a partnership between equal parties so that organisations and clients get involved together to empower people and to improve services and the experience of using them.
We are currently meeting with experienced clients and workers to develop our policy on co-production and consider how we can move forwards.
Events
Beyond involvement:The challenges and opportunities of co-production
2011's client engagement conference, which took place on 28 June in London proved to be a great success.
Recovery seminar
Last years' (September 2010) recovery seminar was very successful; we had a full house of professionals and clients meeting together to consider the issues of recovery and the possibilities for using this approach in services, both mental health and other supported housing projects. We asked the question: does your organisation need to recover? The seminar brought together staff and client speakers and participants who are using the recovery approach to improve services and empower people, and who are interested in learning from experiences.
“Everyone who attended the recovery training last month had a good time and thought it was well worth travelling to London for.”
Feedback from a group of staff and clients who attended the seminar.
Client involvement in housing support and care: Sharing and learning good practice 2010
Sitra's January 2010 client involvement conference was a great success with lively debate, participation and presentation from both workers and clients.
Training
New training in client involvement
We are pleased to be running two new courses which have been co-produced between workers and clients, and which will be co-delivered:
- Client engagement getting the thinking right
- Client engagement: making it a reality
Training clients in peer review
Other recent work has included a series of training courses for Westminster mental health service users enabling them to ‘peer review’ supported housing services in the borough. This review process has now got underway and peer interviews and visits have taken place in three hostels. Westminster commissioners of services have been impressed with the quality of information received from these interviews and will be using it to inform future decision-making.
Networks and user groups
Co-production practitioner’s network
The New Economics Foundation (nef) have set up up a Co-production practitioner’s network which we have developed in partnership with NESTA.
The network provides a forum for frontline practitioners to discuss their work, the approach they take, and the challenges they face. It provides a chance to see how co-production transcends service divides, to learn from the tools and models other practitioners work with, and to contribute to the knowledge and discussions of the network.
Northampton network
There has been interest expressed about setting up a new practitioner’s network for people working in the Northampton area.
If there are others out there interested in this please contact Yemi Olowoyo of the New Ark Foundation at yemi_newark@yahoo.co.uk or Julia.slay@neweconomics.org
Westminster MHH Service User Panel
The Westminster Panel is a group of service users. The panel aims to:
- Raise standards in services, particularly in relation to staff
- Encourage meaningful service user involvement by all service providers
- Develop quality monitoring systems that are more service user focused.
This pioneering group has been successfully running with a core group of clients, facilitated by Sitra working in partnership with Westminster Council. Involved clients have now met with the Westminster Forum, another group of service users in the area, and will be involved in the Stocktake Conference this month.
Resources
In This Together: Building knowledge about co-production
A report by nef tells the stories of people who are improving public services by working with the people who use them and delivering public services in a radically different way. There is also a link to a video "Stories of co-production".
Co-production self-assessment framework
The New Economics Foundation (nef), in association with Holy Cross Community Trust (HCCT) and Timebanking USA (TBUSA) have development a co-production tool, intended to give organisations an opportunity to reflect on their own practice and identify ways to improve.
Download the tool (Word)
nef would like to hear your feedback on the toolkit. Please email lucie.stephens@neweconomics.org
Supporting People Quality Assessment Framework (QAF)
Sitra are guardians of the QAF and were centrally involved in the QAF refresh which took place last year. It was agreed that a new core objective should be created to focus on client involvement and empowerment which is intended to cut across all the core objectives:
"C1.5 Client Involvement and Empowerment
There is a commitment to empowering clients and supporting their independence. Clients are well informed so that they can communicate their needs and views and make informed choices. Clients are consulted about the services provided and are offered opportunities to be involved in their running. Clients are empowered in their engagement in the wider community and the development of social networks.
Involvement and empowerment will mean different things to different people. Some clients wish not to get involved at all and some wish to play a very active role, for example in future planning and governance. It is the responsibility of each provider to offer an opportunity to each individual to get involved."
Sitra bulletin articles
Service user involvement in the Bradford Supporting People programme - Neal Heard (pdf)
March 2011
The Bradford Alliance on Community Care reports on SUI.
Peer reviews of mental health housing services – Gavin McCabe (pdf)
February 2011
Experiences of peer reviewing with Westminster City Council Supporting People.
Advocating for an inclusive Big Society – Joe Whitaker, B.HUG (pdf)
October 2010
Supporting people to develop the self-esteem and the skills to improve the public services they and their peers receive.
The role of the ‘peer consultant’ – Joe Whitaker, B.HUG (pdf)
June 2010
The Supporting People programme has aimed to put SUs at the heart of service provision, involving them in decision making and quality assurance
Getting the shopping list right – Neal Penney, Byker Bridge (pdf)
April 2010
A look at support planning and SU involvement
Positive outcomes and service user involvement – Steve Gill, NOAH Enterprise (pdf)
April 2010
SU involvement is an integral part of the ‘way of life’ at Noah Enterprise
