What does co-production mean to us?

This video is from our Co-Pro stories which provide insights into co-production – what it is, what it feels like, and the challenges and the benefits it can bring.

Our values

For us, putting co-production into practice means living our core values, applying them to all aspects of our work. To achieve our vision, we strive to be:

Reflective

Embracing ongoing self-reflection, learning, and improvement.
Valuing diversity of knowledge, experience, and perspective. Being prepared to question our assumptions and judgements.

Kind

Building mutually beneficial relationships based on empathy, respect, honesty, and trust.
We are all human beings. We aim to be non-judgemental, treat everyone as an individual and support each other with empathy and compassion.

Embracing of change

Challenging the status quo, championing social justice, and amplifying our shared values.
Welcoming new ideas and ways of working, taking risks, and continuously learning from mistakes and other experiences.

Transparent

Committing to being open about the work that we do, including how we do it.
Acknowledging our position of power as individuals and addressing power imbalances and hierarchies through equitable relationships and our ways of working.

Inclusive

Proactively promoting inclusivity by being equitable in our approach, removing barriers, recognising people’s strengths, and supporting their development.
Implementing mechanisms to promote inclusive decision making to enable everyone to be their authentic selves and participate fully in our community.

Note: These values are an evolution of the values that we started with in 2020 and were agreed as a result of co-creation sessions we hosted with our community in 2023. While some adjustments have been made to our original values to enhance clarity, our fundamental emphasis remains the same.

For a full overview of our core values please have a read of Our Core Values summary.

The Principles of Co-Production

To us, these are the foundations of co-production we adapted from those that were outlined by NIHR in 2021 (along with our core values):

Building and maintaining relationships.
Sharing power and decision making.
Make sure all voices are included and valued/listened to.
Something in it for everyone.
Reflective practice.

You can read more about the optimal conditions for co-production in the ‘Recommendations from our research’ section on The Value of Co-Production Research Project page.

Why co-production?

It makes sense! Co-production brings together different forms of lived, living and learnt (personal and professional) knowledge, understanding, and experience, for better outcomes and mutual benefit.

So far, genuine co-production in research, services and policy making has been limited. Those who will actually be affected by a project, programme or policy don’t often get the chance to influence its design and development. This is especially the case for certain groups and communities whose voices have historically been excluded from power and decision-making.

But times are changing! Awareness and understanding of co-production is growing across a wide range of sectors and settings. People with living or lived experience are more regularly working alongside researchers, service providers (such as housing or healthcare), policymakers and charity workers or practitioners from a variety of fields as teammates, improving lives together. In line with our strategy Our Direction 2023-2028 we are striving to make co-production more accessible and share how we do this so can understand how to do this too.

When done well, co-production can be transformative. When done badly, it can significantly damage relationships between those involved that can take a long time to repair. We don’t have all the answers, but we try to lead by example and never stop learning. We exist to influence individuals, organisations and systems, to embrace co-production and put people at the heart of everything they do.

Here are some words of advice from one of our co-producers Scott.

Testimonials

"I happened to discover the Co-Production Collective community bringing together all sorts of people to engage in a permanent dialogue, co-produce and co-deliver tangible action. This decision had a profound impact on me as a person and an advocate for mental health issues. When I was attending the informal Cuppa sessions for the first time, I could not believe that the journey would be so rich in experiences. "

Christoforos Pavlakis, Co-Producer

"As a neurodivergent researcher and advocate, I deeply value my involvement with Co-Production Collective. The Collective doesn’t just listen to those with lived experiences; it actively integrates our insights into its core work, embodying true co-production. Learning from/with the Collective has been instrumental in refining my approach to co-production."

Kana Grace Honorary Postdoctoral Research Fellow at UCL Founder/Director of Valtameri, neurodivergence advocacy organisation

"My engagement with the Collective came at a time when I was feeling isolated and at times muted in terms of working with organisations and researchers to enhance service provision. The values and ethics of the Collective meant that I found a space I can meet with others who share the same mindset and where I feel safe to explore without judgement."

Cecily Henry, Co-producer

"My work with the Collective has given me a new lease of life, from co-producing our payment and our safeguarding policies, to co-designing and co-delivering our training sessions, I have acquired new skills and gained a new confidence that has helped me cope with the mental health issues that have plagued my life. "

Anthony O’Connor, Co-producer

"Being given opportunities to co-produce with the Collective increased my understanding and knowledge base, enabling me to co-produce a qualitative research project on people’s experiences of shielding in the COVID 19 pandemic. I have developed transferable, research skills which are being utilised in other research projects I am involved with."

Lynn Laidlaw, Co-Producer

"The expertise of Co-Production Collective allowed the identification of priority research questions that reflect the curiosity and concerns of the general public as much as those of people with learnt/professional expertise in the field. This led to co-produced themes that enable us to apply for major research funding to tackle maternity disparities."

Professor Keith Godfrey, University of Southampton & Co-chair of the UK Preconception Partnership

"Co-Production Collective are visionary changemakers. Working with the Collective on their strategy and the Measuring Success project has been a fantastic learning experience and has enabled Grand Challenges to test ways of embedding the principles of co-production throughout our programmes. "

Siobhan Morris, Assistant Director, UCL Grand Challenges

"I love working with the Collective. I was reticent at first, because I never went to university, I have no experience of academics and I was worried I wouldn’t fit in and that I would feel like an outsider. Everyone at the Collective is so friendly, and thoughtful. They live co-production and I have learnt so much. "

Co-producer

"I first got in touch with Co-Production Collective as I was struggling to find organisations that shared similar values and approaches to work that I do. The thing that I value, is the sense of purpose and commitment to putting people front and centre. I’ve already learnt a great deal about how to get co-production ‘right’!"

Gary Beckwith, Gobby.io

"I first got involved during lockdown, and since my involvement I have not turned back. Gradually, I built confidence and have been able to connect with some beautiful hearted, selfless people. The greatest aspect that I value is the support and the mutual respect and understanding when making decisions."

Yesmin Begum

"By being involved in the Collective, I’m constantly challenged to do better in my research. I get to work with a diverse range of people to reflect on how to make research more meaningful and impactful to the communities that stand to benefit from it."

Laura Crane, UCL Centre for Research in Autism and Education

"As a representative of one of the organisations funding the Measuring Success project, I have been involved in co-developing the scheme and supporting the assessment of applications. It’s been a fantastic learning experience to understand how funders can help create the best conditions to embed the principles of co-production."

Nick Hillier, Director of Communications and Engagement, Academy of Medical Sciences

"The idea for the Collective began life as just a few words on paper. Now it is a living, breathing, exciting venture. By challenging assumptions and supporting people to work differently I believe it is playing a vital role in helping us tackle some of society’s biggest health challenges from a fresh perspective."

Simon Denegri, Founding member of Co-Production Collective

"As a carer for my son, who has Cystic Fibrosis, I became aware that health and social care provision was system moulded rather than person-centred. I was on the hunt for genuine collaborative working. For the first 3 years I found a few crumbs and the occasional nugget. Then I discovered the Collective – I had arrived!"

Mandy Rudczenko

"The Co-Production training felt like a safe space among equals and meant we were able to address any pre-conceived worries or barriers to co-production in research as a two-way approach to learning. The future of research is co-produced so without a doubt, all PhD students need this training!"

Humma Andleeb, UCL student

"I have learnt so much about co-production through being involved in the Collective. I was part of the team who chose the co-produced Pilot projects to fund. Not only did I learn a lot from this involvement but also it has been a great experience to see the projects grow and develop."

Katherine Barrett

What co-production means to us