Category: Co Production

Co-Production……because it’s worth it! 

Fulfilling Lives South EastLeave a comment

In our previous blog posts and on our website, we’ve talked in great detail about the how, the when, the who and the what of Co-producing with people with lived experience.  We’ve also shared our learning around the potential challenges, how to overcome them and how to be creative when co-producing.  In our final blog, we’ll look at what is probably the most important piece of the co-production jigsaw puzzle… the why. 

So, why is it better for a service to change from their established way of working to co-producing with service users?  

Firstly, it’s worth stating that the purpose of any service is to deliver that service to those who need it.  It should be accessible to everyone from any demographic.  In the context of our work, we are referring to housing, substance misuse, mental health, domestic abuse, and those related to prison release.  It can be difficult enough for someone to access any of these services even if they are experiencing a single complex need, and accessibility is a fundamental aspect of an effective service.  Service users are best placed to inform how the services aren’t accessible for them, either individually, or connectedly.  If they aren’t accessible for them, then the service hasn’t been designed for others in similar circumstances.  Working closely with the people who understand the needs of those falling through the cracks is the best way understand the service’s design flaws so the cracks can be filled.  They can tell you what needs to change and what they feel they needed from the service at that time in order to access the support on offer.  With every additional complex need, it becomes more difficult for someone to access a service on its terms.  Genuinely co-producing with people with lived experience of multiple and complex needs can help the service reach those in the most chaotic circumstances. 

If a service is co-produced from the start, it will be designed to be more efficient while making the best use of the resources available.  There will be fewer missed appointments due to improved accessibility, thus less wasted time and money while reaching more service users and increasing the chance of better outcomes. 

A service can be inaccessible even before attending an appointment.  The service’s reputation can help or hinder the staff who are offering support.  It may be that before someone walks through the front door and meets their support or key worker for the first time, they will have expectations that may be positive or negative based on word of mouth or service reputation.   If a service has been co-produced with those who use it, this will help to increase trust amongst the community it serves, leading to better relationships between workers and service users, and a greater chance for positive outcomes. 

Co-production can benefit service users not just by improving service provision.  Through the process of involvement, service users will be empowered with the opportunity to harness their experiences and direct them in a way that benefits others, providing purpose and a sense of belonging.  Furthermore, services who show trust and value in the co-production process can have a strong impact on the self-esteem, self-worth and confidence of the people taking part, while concurrently helping them to gain skills and experience.  This involvement can be a significant step in someone’s recovery journey.  It also represents a cultural shift in the way society views those with the most complex needs, paving the way for less stigmatising beliefs. 

There is a growing emphasis amongst funders to incorporate co-production into service design.   It is encouraged by procurement regulations and favoured by commissioners, so its value has been recognised.  Bids are likely to be seen more favourably when co-production is part of the service operation.  In these cases, it’s important that co-production is well understood so it can be implemented effectively. 

And finally, people have the right to be involved in their own care; professionals and service users working together to find the best path forward.  When someone is living in chaos, they may not feel they have much control over their own circumstances.  Working with someone in this way provides a sense of agency which can have positive knock-on effects in other areas of their life. 

Key Messages:

So, to summarise, co-producing with people with lived experience of multiple and complex needs is beneficial to the service and service user because: 

  • It is more efficient in the long run as the service will be set up to cater for the needs of all its users, with fewer wasted resources 
  • Outcomes will be better for service users and more sustainable 
  • Co-producing can lead to creative solutions to difficult, long-standing problems 
  • Involving people in their own care is the right thing to do and offers some control over their lives which may be lacking 
  • Service users gain skills and experience that can help prepare them for work 
  • Co-producing provides service users numerous psychological benefits such as a sense of belonging, purpose, and achievement, while building self-esteem, self-worth and confidence 

Below are some quotes from volunteers on co-producing pieces of work with Fulfilling Lives: 

“We had a voice, made me feel I’m not the only one who had experiences like I did at [service] as heard other people’s experiences doing this project, builds confidence. Not very often you have a voice. Hopefully speaking for people who don’t have a voice. We were trusted to do this – self-esteem, not being judged on our past” Service User Involvement Volunteer – FLSE 

— 

“Possibility to have a voice. Feeling valid. Being given agency. It felt good to take difficult experiences and turn them into something productive and taking the chance to step into a more active role, after a long time of feeling powerless and hidden”  Service User Involvement Volunteer – FLSE 

— 

“Everybody should be part of decisions and making a change. Lived experience brings unique perspective, emotional intelligence. Can’t learn it from a textbook. Think that trying to heal and overcome hard times is a difficult and long journey but it also gives incredible insights into yourself and the world, for better and for worse. When the experiences of hard times collide with social services police and other systems, I think that insight and emotional intelligence is particularly valuable if not essential as a window into the client base”  Service User Involvement Volunteer – FLSE 

The only question that remains then is “When are you getting started?” 

Author: Ian Harrison – Co-Production and Engagement Worker

Thanks to colleagues & volunteers at FLSE: 

Vikki Hensley – Co-Production and Engagement Worker

Aditi Bhonagiri – Co-Production and Engagement Worker

Kate Jones – Co-Production and Engagement Worker

Andree Ralph – Engagement and Co-Production Lead

Service User Involvement Team Volunteers

For further information about Fulfilling Lives work in this area, please contact:

ian.harrison@fbht.org.uk

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Co-production: Definition is in the detail

Fulfilling Lives South East1 Comment

“Co-production is a high level of such participation that involves sharing control with those using (or who have used) a service, and ensures they have equal influence over the design, delivery and commissioning of any service that affects them.”

The above quoted text is the official Fulfilling Lives definition of co-production in the context of working with people who have experience of multiple and complex needs, as shown on our website.  It isn’t dissimilar to other definitions which can be found by searching for the term online.  The idea is simple and speaks for itself, yet when considering working in this way, this definition and many others can become increasingly vague.  It is a way of working that can be applied to a wide variety of activities and projects within differing organisations.  These projects and organisations will have their own ethos, goals, values, management structure, rules, regulations, policies, guidelines, and other restrictions on flexibility that need to be considered when deciding to co-produce.  Furthermore, there isn’t one way to approach co-production.  The same task can be divided a multitude of different ways.  It is up to you (all) to decide on the best approach to meet your goals, while considering who you are working with, the skills and interests they possess, and the various regulations previously mentioned that may restrict choice and freedom.

At Fulfilling Lives, we aimed to co-produce from day one of the project being in operation.  As well as a systems change project, we are an experimental one.  We have learned about co-production along the way and evolved our practices accordingly to fit our purposes.  It is through trial and error, continuous reflective practice, regular analysis of how we operate, and regular feedback from those we are co-producing with that has helped us to see the challenges and nuances of the co-production process.  From this, we are better able to foresee potential sticking-points or areas of conflict that may emerge.

An example in practice:

As an example, consider co-producing in the following scenario:

Co-ordinated by a member of staff, a service user group decide to produce an information brochure to help others navigating social services’ childcare proceedings.

Questions or dilemmas that might arise during the process:

  • Are we being inclusive and accessible?
  • Do people feel confident and knowledgeable enough to meaningfully contribute?
  • Who has personal experience of childcare proceedings?
  • How might taking part impact service users? – discuss with them.  What emotional support might they need and is this available?
  • Have you asked service users what they will need to complete their task e.g. regular check-ins with their mentor? Do they feel they can reach out for help if they need it?
  • If someone wants to drop out, do they feel they can let us know so the work can be undertaken by someone else and completed before any deadlines?
  • Is there a member of staff who would need to authorise the content and design?
  • Are there branding guidelines that need to be followed?
  • Does anyone have design experience?
  • What is the division of workload?
  • Who can commit?
  • Do the group want to work on the whole brochure collectively, or would people prefer to own sections from start to finish?
  • Should people have specific roles based on personal experience and interests?
  • Should someone be responsible for ensuring the writing flows consistently throughout the final document?
  • If someone can’t make a session, are they happy for someone else or the group to take on their work?
  • Should people be appointed the power to override decisions based on their expertise or experience?
  • What if there is a conflict over content or design?
  • Does the final product have to be of professional quality?

This is not an exhaustive list of potential questions that may come up, but it serves to illustrate the intricacies of power sharing and the nature or working in a co-produced way.  Thinking about the questions and challenges that may arise has several benefits; firstly, it demystifies the unknown.  When you can visualise what’s up ahead, it’s less intimidating getting started.  Secondly, it will help avoid or manage potential conflict while minimising occasions when you may have to explain why a suggestion may not be possible.  Saying ‘no’ highlights a power difference, can result in people feeling rejected, and can shake trust in the relationship and faith in the process.  Like any members of staff, service users need as much clarity and transparency on their role and the work they are taking part in right from the start.

What Co-Production is NOT ….

Exploring questions around barriers and restrictions is one way of gaining clarity when co-producing.  Another, is to think about areas of uncertainty around what does and does not count as co-production: 

  • Co-production is not about individual agendas  
  • Co-production does not mean an equal share of the workload 
  • Co-production does not mean all group members need to commit an equal amount of time 
  • Co-production does not mean equal accountability and responsibility 
  • Co-production does not preclude the project group having a leader/manager/coordinator 
  • The co-production process in not free from rules and limitations 
  • Ideas and opinions shared when co-producing a piece of work does not mean they are all equally considered by default.  It is important to remember that there is a common goal as defined by the objective, and that ideas should be considered on their merit and relevance  
  • Co-production is not assuming everyone will want to be involved 
  • Co-production should not be tokenistic  
  • Co-production is not consultation 
  • Co-production does not mean an individual must be part of the process from start to finish 

Connecting all the pieces for your project ….

Through curiosity about the process and discussions with service users, over time you’ll gain a more complete picture of what co-production will look like in the project you are taking part in, like piecing together a jigsaw puzzle.  We would suggest starting with the vital things that need to be in place – how will you co-produce in a trauma-informed way that keeps people safe, enables them to make informed choices, work collaboratively, build on relationships of trust, and honour everyone’s voice? There may always be elements of unpredictability and uncertainty when compared to the standard role-based hierarchical management structure, and it is important to be transparent about these from the start, as far as possible, with everyone taking part.

Authors:

Ian Harrison, Engagement and Co-production Worker

Vikki, Engagement and Co-production Worker

For further information about Fulfilling Lives work in this area, please contact:

Andree.Ralph@sefulfillinglives.org.uk, Co-production and Engagement Lead:

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Employing People with Lived Experience of Multiple and Complex Needs

Fulfilling Lives South East

We would like the knowledge our toolkit contains to travel far and wide, making its way into the hearts and minds of organisations across the country, and for employers to recognise the benefits of employing people who have been through hardship and continue to fight for themselves.

A toolkit for employers

Fulfilling Lives South East (FLSE) has been running for eight years.  Eight years is a long time.  Over the course of the project, a lot has changed.  We have tried, tested, adapted, won some, and lost some.  Through all this experimentation, we have learnt a lot about the ‘system’, and a lot about people.  As the project draws to a close, we want to share what we have learned along the way

A major feature of the FLSE project was its employment program, the purpose of which was to employ people with lived experience of multiple and complex needs (MCN) and support them through their recovery from a work-centred perspective.  Those employed were titled Project consultants (PC) and attached to the Service User Involvement (SUI) team.  Their lived experiences varied in combinations and intensities across the spectrums of substance misuse, mental health, repeat offending and homelessness, while their duties were similar, their skillsets differed.  Those occupying the role came from a variety of backgrounds, including but not limited to design, research, psychology, biological sciences. They were also tasked with mentoring lived experience volunteers whose experiences ranged from students to city workers.

In the eight years, the project has seen many lived experience team members come and go.  The majority successfully moved on to other employment, either directly from FLSE, or within six months of leaving the project, while others were not quite at the right stage of their recovery to complete their contract.  Throughout this time, the managers and supervisors have evolved their support practices as they’ve learned what helps (and what doesn’t help) staff with experiences of MCN.  More than that, they’ve helped those staff members to harness their own skills to drive systems change forward. 

Inclusive, supportive workplaces for all

In 2021, we decided to develop a toolkit aimed at employers to consolidate what we have learned about employing people with experience of MCN.  The more we discussed the idea, the larger in scope it became.  In essence, it is a guide to help organisations foster a culture where lived experience of MCN is not only supported but valued.  It’s about creating an inclusive, supportive workplace culture that benefits employers and employees, regardless of whether they have experience of MCN or are just going through a difficult time.  Our toolkit exists to support organisations in creating that culture by providing tools, approaches and practices that help them to help their employees thrive and be successful so that they, in turn, can give their best in their working roles.

So, what does that support look like?  Having seen 41 Project consultants pass through FLSE, all with different life experience, we have a wealth of knowledge to share.  Our toolkit distils down to the overarching support themes that – although written for people with lived experience of MCN – can be applied to all employees.  Its foundation is three principles: Psychologically Informed Environments, Co-production, and Trauma-informed Practice.  Together, these concepts underpin the way people work together, how they treat each other, and how the working environment respects and reflects the (sometimes) difficult life experiences of its employees.  On the surface, they are simple to understand, but require consideration when put into practice.  It is a culture-change, so that means staff need to be on board at all levels, and it takes time and diligence to overwrite old habits, thought processes, and ways of relating.  These three principles should be applied throughout the recruitment process, supervisions, and day-to-day working practice. 

The toolkit also highlights the benefits that people with these life experiences can bring to organisations and the people working within them.  The chances are high that there are multiple people in any organisation who have personal experience or know someone close to them who has experienced addiction, mental ill-health, offending behaviour, or has either been homeless or close to being homeless.  Having someone relate to these circumstances can help with feelings of isolation and shame.  This alone can build stronger, more trusting relationships, while reducing stigma and improving wellbeing within organisations and teams.

The British Medical Association reported in their July 2016 publication (that alcohol use is prevalent among those who work, more so than those who are unemployed, and that it is a growing concern for employers.  The Office for National Statistics reported on their website that in the UK in 2020, 11.6% of absences from work were due to mental ill-health.  Criminal behaviour is not uncommon in wider society.  Violence and substance use are daily occurrences.  These intertwined issues are not confined to people with MCN histories; they apply to people from all walks of life in any profession.  Although our toolkit is designed for supporting people who have combinations of adverse experiences, it can be just as useful for people who are struggling for a single reason.  

Sharing our knowledge

We would like the knowledge it contains to travel far and wide, making its way into the hearts and minds of organisations across the country, and for employers to recognise the benefits of employing people who have been through hardship and continue to fight for themselves.

If you are an employer and would like to discuss this further or have some support around employing people with lived experience of MCN and how to do it well, then please get in touch at the contact email below by 1st June 2022. We’d be more than happy to help!

Click here to open our Toolkit for Employers

Author:

Ian Harrison, Engagement and Co-production Worker

For further information about Fulfilling Lives work in this area, please contact:

Andree Ralph, Co-production and Engagement Lead:

andree.ralph@sefulfillinglives.org.uk  

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Journeys towards a Psychologically Informed Environment (PIE)

Fulfilling Lives South East

There is a growing interest in the support sector to operate Psychologically Informed Environments (PIE) and to adopt trauma informed practice, but this is hard to do. In this blog we reflect on Brighton & Hove City Council’s (BHCC) PIE journey that Fulfilling Lives South East (FLSE) supported with experts in this field and what we learnt from the experience.

What sparks collaborations?

After conversations between the FLSE team and BHCC about changes to language and policy seemed to stall in the face of detailed revisions and large authorisation processes, the FLSE team decided to re-group and re-evaluate priorities. We reflected that we actually wanted to support larger-scale changes beyond the immediate policy in question and that we were passionate about encouraging PIE and trauma informed practices across the service.

We shared these reflections openly with the BHCC managers and this unlocked a different mode of conversation. We were able to discuss broader principles and values of the department and we found this was a much more open dialogue, welcomed by both ourselves and the BHCC team.

What happened in the journey – ‘How about a mystery shop?’

In a meeting that followed sharing our reflections, a volunteer said: ‘how about we do a mystery shop?’ He reassured the groups that this was a learning opportunity, with an established process which had been carried out in the Hastings Housing Department to support their service development too. The BHCC Managers embraced this opportunity and a month later we were training up volunteers to carry out a mystery shop and conduct environment assessments of the housing customer service centre.

To find out more about mystery shopping please read our toolkit here. The learning from these activities was shared at both a managers’ level and with the whole department. These meetings and presentations were co-produced and co-delivered with people who have lived experiences of multiple and complex needs (MCN) and we highlighted positives as well as areas we felt could be developed. Paired with this, BHCC housing managers made time for staff to reflect on the learning and share hopes and aspirations for the Department. They wanted staff to have space for de-brief and dialogue.

The BHCC Housing Department was starting to shape its vision and plans for the future using the learning from the mystery shop and environment assessment paired with staff feedback.

Following this, the Department reached out to Dr Peter Cockersell to support with staff training in PIE and trauma informed approaches. Peter is a leading expert in this field and one of the co-authors of the national guidance on PIE. Peter worked in collaboration with FLSE, partnering with volunteers and experts by experience to design the training which was then delivered by the team. This programme saw over 100 staff participate in training across the whole of the BHCC Housing Department.

Following this, in late 2020/early 2021, the Department released its revised strategy, which included a commitment to becoming a department that operates as a PIE.

Covid-19 has obviously put all housing departments under huge strains, and we hope that as the world takes steps to recover from the pandemic that the BHCC team can have space to revisit this work and time for non-crisis activity.

What impact did this have?

Having the mystery shopping exercise and environment assessment as the foundation for this partnership, centred the voice of lived experience and helped to shape BHCC’s plans for the future around the service-user.

One volunteer who was key to shaping FLSE’s involvement in the partnership shared their reflections on this work:

“So my interest in the work was to do with the fact that the first time I was homeless I went through the system, and it was decided that they had no duty of care. So I just wanted to see if the system had changed or not.

I do think that the majority of the staff [at the council] were very open minded.  The few staff members who did object at first did eventually came around after we managed to convince them that the work was about testing the system and not them.

I don’t know about all the staff, but I do remember one lady who said that as a result of the mystery shops that she had re-evaluated the way she worked, and that after it, when she was meeting with people she made sure that she had some water and tissues in case they were needed.”

Learning

Based on the learning and values of the Project, there are golden threads that run through all of our systems change work. We share these below as useful starting point for anyone looking to spark or support a journey of change similar to the one we reflect on above.

  • Drivers for change: At FLSE we have found it useful to reflect on and write down what drives all our efforts and partnership work. These are a useful reminder on a challenging day about why you do the work. 
  • Guiding principles: We have worked to certain values, principles and practices and this has helped shape what we do as much as how we do it. For FLSE, these have been:
    • Co-production
    • Trauma-informed practice
    • Naming Multiple and Complex Needs (and multiple disadvantage)
    • Using project management tools to guide activity
  • Building trust: Making concerted efforts to build trust between all stakeholders who need to be involved in a PIE journey or further systems change activity is crucial.  We’ve learnt that this is a bedrock of all good partnership working and when we have built trust effectively, this has led to the most impactful outcomes.

Author:

Rebecca Rieley, Systems Change Lead

For further information about Fulfilling Lives work in this area, please contact:

Rebecca Rieley, Systems Change Lead:

rebecca.rieley@sefulfillinglives.org.uk  

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Employment and the road to recovery

Fulfilling Lives South East2 Comments

Meaningful work is right up there among the activities known to help wellbeing, support successful maintenance of recovery and reintegration and to help people with lived experience of multiple complex needs (MCN) move forward with their lives.

Our work

Since 2014 the Fulfilling Lives South East Project has employed a total of 41 individuals with lived experience of MCN, through its employment programme.

Throughout the employment program we sought to learn what it takes to successfully recruit and employ people with lived experience of MCN. We have adapted systems and processes, tested things out, reflected continuously……got it wrong sometimes and after seven years, gathered a wealth of information and evidence of what works and how organisations and employers can effectively recruit, support and develop people who have experienced disadvantage.

This period of intense learning has led to 39% of former employees moving directly on to other employment opportunities and 17% who gained employment within six months of leaving Fulfilling Lives. A total of 56% of former project consultants have successfully moved on from the project into new employment. Five people are still working in the project and three of them have already secured jobs to move on to when the project finishes in June next year!

Let’s be honest though, we could quote statistics and numbers all day.

But it isn’t just about numbers and data.  For Fulfilling Lives South East it’s also been a journey of discovery about how employees with lived experience of MCN can be supported to grow, thrive and excel in their roles, being proactive in taking on new challenges, leading on projects and seeing within themselves potential that previously may have been hidden.

The numbers will only ever tell us so much. To really understand why meaningful employment in a trauma informed environment and organisation can truly change lives, we need to hear from the people who have experienced it. So, we asked some of our team….

How have you benefited from being employed in the Fulfilling Lives Project?

“Working at FL has been an important part of my recovery journey.  It’s a large slice of my life that contributes to something positive, personal, and meaningful.  The job is the foundation for me to start over, while allowing me to work in parallel on the deeper issues that led me here in the first place.  The support and flexibility make it possible to do the difficult personal work whilst being employed”

“I worked as a volunteer for 7 months before being employed by Fulfilling Lives. Prior to that, I had been unemployed for 2 and a half years and had really low self-esteem as a result. I had lost all my confidence; I was scared about everything and I felt hopeless and worthless. But this time around, I was determined to turn my life around and I received the support and guidance I needed through FL. I started taking on pieces of work where I was able to build on my strengths, tap into the recovery networks that I was a part of and apply the skills I had learnt before I fell ill. My negative experiences with my illness and with services didn’t haunt me anymore because I was able to use my lived experiences constructively. I started feeling less lost and FL helped me regain a sense of purpose. Most of all, I benefitted from meeting like-minded individuals and working in a team where each one of us had a story to tell. We had all been through a lot in our lives and FL became a conduit for our transformations. Now I have a different story to tell …of what it feels like to be on the other side of a trauma, illness and isolation.”

How has being employed in a trauma informed environment helped you?

“Recovering from trauma is a journey, not a destination. Working in a trauma informed culture has helped me gain a deeper understanding of my journey and to sharpen the tools I have, to survive and thrive after trauma. I’ve been supported to apply my skills in new situations and take on new challenges.  Working in a trauma informed way can result in sense of empowerment for individuals and create a trauma informed culture within an organisation.  Having regular space for reflective practice, focusing on growth and learning has really accelerated my development. Learning from each other’s’ strengths and experiences, being honest in a group setting and problem-solving challenges has been really useful.”

“I think trauma is something that sometimes we are working on our whole lives. There’s not a before point and after point it’s like continuous building and healing and resilience and coping skills. That’s maybe part of why even at the point of being employment ready we can still benefit from trauma informed culture because we are continuously developing. Always some processing, realising, healing, learning and growing to do”

“Life can be very cruel and many of us carry some kind of trauma that is unaddressed. Additionally, it is not uncommon to hear of workplaces that are exploitative towards the people that work for them. Working in a trauma-informed environment feels like some sort of rebellion against a work culture that doesn’t value kindness towards or the well-being of their workers. Being employed in an organisation that is trauma informed is nourishing. It creates a fertile ground for creativity, imagination and innovation, where people can explore their strengths, heal from their negative experiences and grow in a place where people truly care about you”

Are there any examples of trauma informed practices that really stood out for you while at Fulfilling Lives?

“Person-centred and psychologically informed supervisions have allowed me to develop my confidence and relationships of trust with people supervising and managing me. When I was new my supervisions were really tailored to my needs in terms of negative self-concept and tendency to magnify real or perceived imperfections. I learned to evaluate my performance more objectively by doing this with my supervisor and now I am able to recognise and speak about highlights and achievements, as well as raise areas I’d like to develop or work on without fear of punishment/harsh judgement. I feel I can be 100 % open and honest “

“I’ve never been in a job where I’ve needed to be so organised, chopping and changing between different tasks, taking different trainings, absorbing so much information.  It was very overwhelming having not worked for three and a half years.  It was a world I’d never experienced.  The induction period was very helpful.  I was able to ease into a work routine at a pace that worked for me.  I didn’t have to hit the ground running and fill my calendar with meetings.  It gave me time to settle in and get used to just being at work. It was low pressure with some guidance to keep me on track and focused on the right things.  There were development sessions which kept me on target to learning or re-learning key skills, normal workplace skills that I’d forgotten.  Thinking back, the induction period served as a safe place to start from scratch.  It really did feel like starting again.  My manager and supervisor were like guides who helped me to function in the world.”

“Having an attitude of learning and development in our team really helped me too. The skills I found challenging were reframed from things “I’m just not good at” to something I can improve at, practice and were achievable.  If something was a challenge, there was support to work on it”

So, what do trauma Informed practice and psychologically informed principles look like at work?

Well, it looks like any good employment should!

In reality, what we are talking about isn’t the proverbial ‘rocket science’ but it does need to be thought about properly, valued across the organisation and embedded in everything.

It means creating supportive and accessible workplaces; in a nutshell, getting the culture right! 

The values of Trauma-Informed Practice, Psychologically Informed Environments and Co-production should underpin everything.  It’s also about recognising the undeniable link between wellbeing and performance and embedding activities and processes that promote and maintain wellness for all employees throughout the organisation.

These principles and values need to be part of all the policies and processes that an employee with lived experience of MCN (and in fact any employee) will have to navigate and be a part of: The recruitment process and application form; attending an interview and being recruited; going through Induction; succeeding at any probation period and participating actively in supervision and professional development throughout their role.

Really though, shouldn’t we be striving for this anyway? In all roles?

And it’s a two-way street too! Our project has benefitted enormously from employing people with lived experience of MCN.  Bringing their commitment and unique engagement qualities and skills, this team has been crucial in the development, implementation and success of our systems change, engagement and co-production objectives.

In a series of blogs around employing people with lived experience of MCN, we want to unpick some of the key elements and practices that make employment successful, both for the employee and for the employer. 

We are also currently creating a resource for employers around employing people with lived experience of MCN and how to do it well. If you would like a copy of this resource once it’s published, please contact andree.ralph@sefulfillinglives.org.uk or nelida.senoran-martin@sefulfillinglives.org.uk

Authors: Andree Ralph

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Further reading and resources

Click to access Involving-people-with-lived-experience-in-the-workforce-2020.pdf

Working with the DWP (not against them)

Fulfilling Lives South EastLeave a comment

Using co-production as the foundation to drive positive change for people with multiple complex needs.

Co-Production and driving change

Brighton Jobcentre Plus (JCP) is not known for its inviting exterior or the promise of fond memories for those who cross its threshold. Its brutalist form sits stoic and unforgiving next to the Law courts and a stone’s throw from Brighton Police Station. The three front-mounted security cameras cast a suspicious eye over all who enter. Over the past 7 years, working with people with lived experience has taught us that approaching the Brighton Jobcentre can leave people feeling, nervous, fearful, judged, and powerless. For locals, Brighton Jobcentre has not – historically – conjured images of warmth, compassion, or community.  Well, that’s changing.  Right now.  Not the exterior though, sorry!

The Fulfilling Lives South East (FLSE) partnership with the Brighton Jobcentre began in the summer of 2019.  From the beginning, Fulfilling Lives (FL) project staff and volunteers worked together with Brighton JCP management to design a Mystery Shopper exercise to evaluate how the Brighton JCP staff engaged with customers presenting with multiple complex needs. As well as this we assessed the building environment with the aim of understanding how at times the Brighton JCP could have a confusing and negative impact on some of the service’s most vulnerable customers.

To assess the service at its most authentic, Fulfilling Lives and Brighton JCP management decided it would be best to conduct the Environment Assessment and Mystery Shopper evaluation covertly. Without informing the staff. Yep, that happened.  This decision – made at the start of our partnership – shows the humility of our local DWP partners and their willingness to address any power imbalance; it was a risk to assess their own service without informing their workers, it was a risk to partner up with a small project to help them do so.  Lived experience volunteers and FL staff took part in planning the mystery shops, writing character biographies, and acting out the roles. The environment was assessed for its ‘Psychologically Informed’ design, which includes highlighting potential triggers that might hyper-arouse visitors with complex trauma histories, as well as areas of comfort. The FL project team presented the findings and recommendations from both the Environment Assessment and Mystery Shops to the whole Brighton JCP staff team.

Despite some staff understandably feeling displeased at being kept in the dark and the unforeseen impact of coronavirus and the immense pressures and challenges that have come with it, the Brighton JCP team have stayed with us and continued to work as equal partners towards our common goal of improving the system for those customers with multiple complex needs.   

Following the evaluations, working groups were setup with JCP and FL staff and volunteers to discuss the mystery shopper and environment assessment recommendations and how they could be translated to real change.  Due to having practically zero budget to work with, there was discussion of JCP staff donating their own personal items, such as cushions, to make the environment more welcoming. This commitment on such a personal level is worlds away from the impression many have of the Jobcentre as a cold institution. Art from the local Brighton & Hove Recovery College was hung on the walls, security guards were repositioned to appear less intimidating, toilet access was made easier, a reception desk was added, staff were given relevant additional training, private safe rooms were made available, and more. Fulfilling Lives went on to deliver workshops and webinars to over 350 JCP staff. And produce an eight video training series with lived experience volunteers to support the JCP staff to work more effectively with customers living with multiple complex needs. 

Instead of two organisations trying to further their own agendas, we wanted to embark on this relationship in the spirit of co-production; a single team made up of individuals with varied skills and experiences setting out to achieve a common goal.  As organisations, we are both working to make life easier for people who are struggling.  By working together instead of digging our heels in and fighting our respective corners, we have built a relationship of trust and reciprocity, where we understand each other’s roles, responsibilities, capacities, and capabilities.  With this attitude, the third-sector, local government, and people with lived experience have come together to create positive, social change, the influence of which has the potential to spread far and wide.

Coming up

In the next instalment of this blog series, we will hear more from the DWP managers at the heart of this partnership on how they leveraged the learning from this collaboration to drive the change internally.

Author: Alan Wallace, Ian Harrison

Should you wish to find out more about our partnership work or our systems change efforts, please contact:

Alan Wallace, Systems Change Officer: alan.wallace@sefulfillinglives.org.uk

Or

Rebecca Rieley, Systems Change Lead: rebecca.rieley@sefulfillinglives.org.uk

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Launch of Guide for Child Protection and Care proceedings, and Women’s Rights Leaflet

Fulfilling Lives South East1 Comment

An example of co-production activity in action

Download the resources here

These are open-source resources, if you would like to host these resources on your own website please contact michaela.rossmann@bht.org.uk

Leaflet
Video

In our Manifesto for Change, Fulfilling Lives South East (FLSE) identified that women experiencing multiple disadvantage going through child protection and care proceedings should be offered independent advocacy, with the aim of helping women understand each stage of the process, including what is going to happen next.

Our internal Project Group identified a lack of resources available to explain the process of what happens when Children and Family Services get involved.

In January 2021, FLSE created a sub-group which included volunteers, experts by experience as well as other team members to help prioritise the different discussions and we created a mind-map together, shown below.

As a team, and together with SpeakOut, we wanted to ensure that the information is accessible and available. Over the years, clients, front- line staff and experts by experience voiced the need for a leaflet and a simple explanation of the process of what could happen at different stages when social services are involved in childcare proceedings. Together with the sub-group we reflected on this and identified the lack of coordinated information and support. This really did highlight to us the importance of creating new resources to support women with MCN going through care proceedings. That is why FLSE has worked together across teams, with co-production at its heart, to develop and share our Guide to Child Protection and Care Proceedings as well as the new Women’s Rights leaflet.

We are also lucky to have dedicated volunteers and a passionate action group. Their input was crucial on how the resources have been created and designed.

Reflections

Reflections from Linda, a volunteer with FLSE:

‘The creation of these resources was the first project I helped to co-produce as a volunteer for FLSE from start to finish.


Co-production requires everyone’s involvement, ideas and feedback. Getting feedback on a piece of work that someone has done can be scary or upsetting and was something I was worried about. However, one of the highlights of the project for me turned out to be getting feedback from other volunteers, having them input ideas on how to make the design as accessible and useful as possible, as well as the thoughtful opinions and information provided by the frontline staff team.


I had the opportunity to experience the highs and lows of “getting things done” in a safe, pressure-free environment. It has given me an idea on how services operate (or should operate?) and helped me realise how teamwork is necessary to break down daunting tasks into more manageable steps, thus expanding what can be achieved by people in order to change, and helping people navigate various systems.‘

Reflections from Vikki, FLSE Engagement Worker:

‘It has been a privilege to work alongside Michaela and Linda creating this important set of resources. This work is a great example of co-production in action and the positive impact it can have – both on the work produced and the individuals taking part. Linda is a very motivated and reflective volunteer with many skills, and it was great to be working in a project where we place trust in volunteers to take ownership of pieces of work of their choosing and allow them space to shine. She was also able to identify development goals that she would like support to achieve during this process, such as presenting the work to groups of people and incorporating their feedback into the final product.

By consulting with frontline staff, systems change staff, managers and a diverse lived experience group we have ensured our final resources approach this sensitive and potentially triggering topic sensitively and that they will be useful to a wide range of people. Building relationships of trust across teams of staff and volunteers, and holding our meetings in a safe, boundaried, trauma-informed way meant that people felt comfortable using their voice and sharing their opinions.

This project is also an example of a volunteer having value beyond their lived experience – Linda used her lived experience perspective in creating the resources but also drew on other personal and professional qualities to take part in these pieces of work.‘

Producing such sensitive resources involved lots of conversations with FLSE’s project group, partners like SpeakOut as well as front-line staff and social workers.

For us it was crucial to use the full ladder of co-production to make sure we are inclusive, support people to voice their opinions, give them choices for how they take part, and offer chances to give feedback and build that feedback into the work.
To ensure accountability, our experts by experience actively fed into the design and content of the video, as well as deciding the content and colours of the leaflet. We are very happy that Linda took the leading role in designing the leaflet.

And we are now happy to launch the online guide to child protection and care proceedings together with the Women’s Rights Information Leaflet.

There is still a lot more work to be done to ensure women experiencing MCN and recurrent child care proceedings are being fully supported across systems and we continue taking steps to minimise this gap.

Authors:

Vikki – Project Consultant
Linda – FL Volunteer
Kate Jones- Project Consultant
Michaela Rossmann- Systems Change Officer