Co-production Week: will it catch on?

By Tina Coldham, SCIE Co-production Network chair

When we ran the first ever National Co-production week last year we had no idea whether the idea would catch on. So it was with great anxiety that we started feverishly tweeting to launch the week in July 2016.

Tina Coldham

Make your Co-production Week commitment >>>

Organisations big and small contributed

It wasn’t until the week itself that we knew for sure that the idea had caught on. Thankfully lots of bodies supported the week from the Care Quality Commission, Turning Point, Hampshire County Council and the King’s Fund to the Older People's Advocacy Alliance OPAAL (UK), Spectrum Centre  for Independent Living and Helix Arts. 

Co-production blogspot was a hot spot

Our Co-production Week blog 2016 was very popular with 7,000 views of 30 blogs that gave an insight into the range of co-production activity that goes on across the country. It included amazing blogs such as ‘Welcome to the Dementia Underground Resistance Charm Offensive’ by Larry Gardiner of Young Dementia, ‘The co-production revolution’ by Rachael Wallach, founder of #HackOnWheels  and ‘Co-production is a rare and precious thing’ by June Sadd, survivor / consultant.

SCIE’s co-production festival 2016

SCIE co-production festival was crammed with people who came together to celebrate co-production, network and enjoy poetry, music and comedy. The day was topped off with an amazing perform by SCIE’s Chief Executive Tony Hunter singing "I can’t get no co-production" accompanied by yours truly on the ukelele. Perhaps the less said about that the better.

Co-production week 2017

Co-production week 2017 is 3rd to 7th of July. We want this year’s week to be even bigger and better. You can support the week by blogging, tweeting, sharing good practice and organising events. We will be holding our second Co-production festival on 5^th July with disabled comedian Francesca Martinez headlining. Regionally, Touchstone, a forward-thinking provider in Leeds has already scheduled in an event on 6^th July.

Make a co-production commitment

This year we are asking organisations and individuals not just to support Co-production Week in principle, but to tell us what they are actually going to do by making a co-production commitment. The Commitment means promising to do at least one thing to support co-production. For organisations, it could be anything from doing a new co-production plan to sending some staff on a training course. Individuals can look at how they can do more co-production in their work.

Nothing about us without us!

We need your help to make Co-production week 2017 a success. We want to show that despite difficult times, people who use services, carers and supporters are determined to make our voice heard. Nothing about us without us!