August 9, 2024
In July we took part in a number of events showcasing projects we and others have worked in that demonstrate what difference co-production can make to communities, policy making and research. In this update, we share more about these as well what else we have been up to and how you can get involved.
In light of the horrific racist acts, we have seen in the country over the last few weeks, we would like to direct you to some helpful resources created by People’s Voice Media. These share experiences of refugees, asylum seekers and migrants who have settled in the UK, and provide a toolkit that can be used to sow the seeds of empathy, compassion and grow communities of sanctuary. Please also take some time read our blog from Isaac Samuels and Samantha-Jane Ofoegbu on the importance of Standing together in troubled times and some practical steps you can take to help.
We'd also like to let you know that we no longer be active on X/Twitter so please keep in touch by:
Support available for members of our community from racialised backgrounds
We wanted to create a space where individuals from racialised backgrounds can come together in solidarity, recognising that these times have been particularly challenging. To this end, Isaac and Samantha-Jane are hosting two online drop-in sessions via Zoom (dates below) where you can simply come along and chat about how you're feeling.
These sessions are specifically for individuals from racialised backgrounds and are intended to be a supportive environment where we can stand alongside each other in the face of racism, Islamophobia, and other forms of oppression. If you would like to come along, please email Nicc by replying to this email or on n.pascal@ucl.ac.uk and she will send you the joining information.
Please feel free to drop by, bring a brew, and have a conversation. There's no pressure to stay for the entire session; come for as long or as briefly as you like, and contribute as much or as little as you feel comfortable. Just know that Isaac and Sam will be there ready to support you if you need them
We held our fifth session for the Commissioning with Communities programme with Ashley and Stuart. This workshop series is a development programme for commissioners who want to develop their practice to make resources work better for communities. You can read more about co-production and commissioning in this blog.
The Second Advisory Board meeting for the London Alliance for the Co-production of Evidence Synthesis (also known as LACES) project took place. At this meeting, we also explored what expertise (knowledge, skills, lived experience) co-producers and the team bring to the group to enable us to make better use of everyone’s skills to support the LACES projects. We also discussed ways of working and started to put together a shared agreement which incorporates what was discussed at the meeting and sets out the purpose and role of the Advisory Board.
The team behind the Measuring Success in Co-production Programme met to continue working on the co-produced evaluation of the programme that we wrote about in our blog about ‘Diving in and reflecting on evaluating ourselves’ in February. This involves examining all the sources of data that we have gathered about the programme, to evaluate both our own processes of co-production and how the programme is experienced by the eight funded projects.
Al, Ashley, George and Krisztina went to the third Not Another Co-Production Festival. This year, the festival’s theme was about the ingredients needed for a successful co-production recipe. The event started with a communal lunch and an opportunity for all to get to know each other. This was followed by interactive sessions and presentations about co-produced projects. The atmosphere was buzzing with excitement throughout, as people shared their experiences and ideas on working together to create change in their communities via co-production. You can read the Not Another Co-Production Project Cookbook including recipes from some fantastic projects on this link. Look out for our blog coming later this month where you can find out more about what happened at the festival and what we learnt from it.
Isaac and Nicc attended and spoke at the Health Services Research UK Conference, about our anti-racism work. The event brings together researchers, policymakers, and healthcare professionals at the University of Oxford. The programme showcased research projects and innovative practices in health services, with an emphasis on applying these insights to improve policy and practice. The main session provided an excellent platform for networking, collaborating, and sharing findings and disseminating research findings in healthcare.
George, Alice and Laura went to launch of the Croydon Urban Room (pictured above). This is a space in the in the Whitgift shopping centre in Croydon where people who live, work, study and visit Croydon can get involved in shaping a plan for the town centre's recovery. Alongside exhibits from other projects engaging with the community. It was great to see the exhibition which was co-created during the Co-Producing Croydon workshops we held with Croydon residents and the Croydon Council Placemaking Team.
Sarah and Priya were part the final session of the Westminster Commissioning for Complexity training series that we have delivered in partnership with Collaborate CIC and Ideas Alliance.
We will be working with members of our community who have no experience of using LinkedIn as well as seasoned LinkedIn users to create an introductory session to LinkedIn. Stay tuned for further updates.
We’d love to hear from you why you take part in Co-Pro Cuppas and if they are not your cup of tea, we’re also interested to find out why. This will help us to ensure our Co-Pro Cuppas are as helpful and enjoyable as possible,
So, we’d love you to answer the following questions:
You can give us your feedback by either filling out this short survey or emailing your answers to these questions to coproduction@ucl.ac.uk. This should take you no more than five minutes and it will really help us to plan Cuppas in the future, so if you can spare the time to do this by 9 am Monday 9 September, we’d really appreciate it.
Thank you for coming to our August Co-Pro Cuppa! It was great to see many of you there and great discussions on a variety of topics including "safe spaces" and how this phrase can be subjective and mean different things to different people, so we need to be more explicit about what we mean by this. We also discussed what makes an appropriate venue for co-production taking into account who we are meeting with and how they may feel in the venue you are proposing using, as well as other considerations to help level the playing field for all those involved.
Our next Co-Pro Cuppas will take place on:
If you have any questions or would like to know more about our work, please get in contact by emailing us on coproduction@ucl.ac.uk.
“In the light of the recent racist thuggery we have seen on our streets People's Voice Media feel it's even more important to share a free educational resource that was produced as part of a recent project we did. The project is called HOME? Heritage project and focuses on the experiences of refugees, asylum seekers and migrants who have settled in the UK.
This educational toolkit is aimed to be used in the community, in schools, youth clubs, community groups etc, to sow the seeds of empathy, compassion and grow communities of sanctuary. The activities are simple and easy to use and to adapt to different ages and groups. To start, or to continue to make positive change in your school, youth club or community group, act now and download it. Hard copies are available as well - please email kath@peoplesvoicemedia.co.uk to receive one”.
Photo credit: Pexels
Interested in finding out more or exploring how we could work together?
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