It’s October, time to celebrate our 2nd Birthday: Monthly team update

In our 2nd birthday month, it’s exciting to see projects that have been in development for quite a long while (like our Payment Policy) being launched, as well as many other projects underway.

Celebrate our 2nd birthday with us

We hope you’ll join us this month in celebrating the Collective! Saturday 22 October is the day we officially became Co-Production Collective two years ago. We have however, decided to go for a month of celebrations! There are lots of ways you can be part of celebrating this momentous occasion. Here is a snapshot of some of the things those who signed up to be part of the planning team (thank you Mark, Rachel and Scott W!) have lined up for you:

1. Sign our card - you can do this by leaving a message for all who are part of the Collective on our community birthday card. We will share the final version in all its glory in our November newsletter, once everyone who wants to has had the chance to contribute.
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2. Join our online birthday event on Monday 31 October 10:00-11:30 - where will be sharing initial findings from our ‘Value of Coproduction’ project as well as other key pieces of work. We will also be inviting you to share what Co-Production Collective means to you and the difference it has made for you. You can sign up to join us via Eventbrite or by emailing coproduction@ucl.ac.uk
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3. Social media options – for those who use Twitter
   
   Join our Twitter chat - if you can’t join us at the online event, you are welcome to take part in our Twitter chat #CoProTwo @UCL_CoPro that we are planning for that day (more on this soon!) or drop us an email and we will share a write up with you.
   
   Give our Twibbon a go! - you will be able to show your support for the Collective by sharing a Twibbon (a small image that you can overlay onto your Twitter profile picture) to support our birthday. This has kindly been created for us by Mark – thank you! More on this coming soon.  

Co-pro Cuppa conversations

In this months’ Co-Pro cuppa (our informal monthly chance to connect with friends, meet new people and chat about whatever you fancy over a cuppa!) the main discussion was around the complexities and challenges faced when trying to find fair ways to pay and recognise people for their time when then they take part in co-production activities. During this conversation time-banking, time-credits as well as cryptocurrency and other forms of rewards were discussed. It was great to be part of a conversation with people from different backgrounds, sectors and parts of the country learning from each other and seeing that this is an ongoing and evolving conversation for everyone, the Co-Production Collective included! Especially as this month we are due to launch our long-awaited Payment Policy that so many of you so generously contributed your time to putting together.

You can sign up to join us for our next two Co-Pro Cuppa sessions which will be taking place on Friday 4 November and Thursday 8 December via our events page.

What else is happening in October

We held the first of our co-creation sessions for our safeguarding policy development hosted by one of our community members Richard who has also been having individual conversations with those of you who got in touch to offer to speak to him. We hope to have a draft policy for you to review in November and a further co-creation in person event at end of November/beginning of December so we will keep you posted.  

Vanessa, Mandy and Isaac have been working on the co-producer programme and there are few key decisions that would benefit from your involvement. As we have already shared, these discussions are taking place Tuesday 11 October 11:00-13:00. You find out more on the session on Tuesday by reading our latest blog post and can sign up to take part in the discussion via Eventbrite. Alternatively feel free to book your place by emailing us on coproduction@ucl.ac.uk

Team updates:  Welcome to George

George has recently joined the Collective to focus on the sharing what we do as a community with others. She also gets involved in some of our work with external organisations sharing our learning and thinking through with them what co-production is and how to go about it.

I joined the Co-Production Collective two weeks ago and have really enjoyed getting my head round all the amazing work you have been doing. I love nothing better than giving people a voice and sharing their stories in ways that benefits others, so I am excited to start my journey at the Co-Production Collective.  For the last seven years I worked for Terrence Higgins Trust, a national HIV and sexual charity where a major part of my role was amplifying the voices of people living with and affected by HIV in their services and campaigns. Outside work as well as being an avid reader and mum of two boys, I am also a wellbeing coach and author who loves to create spaces for women to take time out of their busy lives reconnect with the essence of who they are so that their light shines brighter in the world.

Share your stories and get involved

If you have anything to share with the community about projects you have worked on, or lessons you have learnt regarding co-production we would love to hear from you as we see this blog as the voice of our community so please get in touch on coproduction@ucl.ac.uk

To stay in touch with the latest news from us, make sure you’re signed up to our newsletter and following us on Twitter to hear it first. We hope to see you, hear from you or speak to you soon! As ever, if you have any questions or suggestions for us, please get in touch at coproduction@ucl.ac.uk

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