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Photo of man on the peak of a mountain with arms up towards the sky that is all around as the light begins to fade - Photo Credit Canva

October Team Update: Celebrating Achievements and Reflecting on our Journey

October 10, 2024

In this month’s update we reflect on the journey our Measuring Success Teams have been on and celebrate the work of the team involved in a piece of work that we have been supporting since 2021.  

nasen Awards

We are really excited to announce that the Ear Checks programme we have been working on since 2021 with NHS England has won two awards at the National Association for Special Educational Needs Awards (known as nasen awards). To find out more about this amazing achievement read our blog.

The photo depicts the Co-Production Collective team at the nasen Awards. Left to right the picture has Nicc, Rosie, Chloe and Sarah. They are wearing formal gowns and Chloe is holding the award.
Co-Production Collective team at the nasen awards

Measuring Success funding programme

We were delighted to welcome the eight teams who are taking part in the Measuring Success in Co-production funding programme in September for our last Sharing and Learning session. During the programme, our Measuring Success team have helped guide the project teams through their co-production journeys, explore how to co-produce their evaluations of their co-production projects and better understand the process of co-producing. People appreciated the opportunity to reflect upon their work (within their teams) and also gained insights about co-production and evaluation by hearing more about each other’s work (across their teams). This has a been learning curve for everyone involved, especially for those who are new to co-production. We have delved into the many different layers of co-production and evaluation. Therefore, it is totally understandable that at times during the programme some may have felt confused or even overwhelmed, we feel that this is all part of the learning process.

Can you summarise your experience of the Measuring Success Programme? 31 response picture of a word cloud below with the biggest words being supportive, transformative thought provoking and other words around it
Word Cloud from the last Measuring Success Sharing and Learning session.

It is supported by The Evaluation Exchange (a collaboration between UCL and Compost London) and representatives from two of our co-funders, UCL Grand Challenges and The Academy of Medical Sciences, who supplemented our Research England funding for this programme.

Events we attended

Neurodivergence, climate action & eco hope!

In September, Vanessa and Aleem attended a fun and inspiring event hosted by Nifty Sustainability. They were celebrating their work which was funded by the Measuring Success programme. Their co-produced project supports people who identify as neurodivergent, to pursue their work to inspire positive climate action and maintain eco hope. One of the attendees at the event was the conservationist and TV presenter Chris Packham, who shared some of his insights with the group. If you would like to know more, please check out the event recording and the blog by one of the co-production group members.

Picture of a sky with green field below and fluffy clouds and the outline of birds with the heading 'Neurodivergence climate action & eco hope! - The berry picker and the system thinkers: celebrating the role of neurodivergent minds in tackling the climate and the nature crisis! Wednesday 4 September 10am -12pm with the Co-Production Collective and Nifty Sustainability logos
Flyer for the Nifty Sustainability event

Health Inequalities conference

Yesmin and Nicc were part of the first NHS Birmingham and Solihull Personalised Care in Cancer Conference. The conference explored the practical approaches to improving outcomes for those living with and beyond cancer. This event builds on the work we did last year with Macmillan Cancer Support and Green Lane Masjid in Birmingham. Yesmin and Nicc were there to speak to attendees about the benefits that co-production and to capture attendees views about the event and how co-production might be able to work aiming to address health inequalities. They were joined by Anna from New Possibilities who provided graphic facilitation support and captured the conversations live.

Coming Up

As mentioned in last month’s update, we have been co-creating an Introductory Session to LinkedIn with our community. The session aims to develop participants’ understanding of LinkedIn, enabling them to stay updated with the Collective and engage in discussions about co-production and other topics of interest on the platform. The LinkedIn introductory session will be held on Tuesday 15 October at 10:00 (UK time). The event is now full but if you would like to add your name to the waiting list, this will help us see if there is appetite for hosting another session.  

Get involved

Support a bid for a Suicide Prevention Programme

We have put together a grant application in relation to suicide prevention and are looking for two people with lived experience of suicide based in London to help us develop it further.

If you are interested in this opportunity and have 2-3 hours available in the next few weeks, please let us know by emailing coproduction@ucl.ac.uk by 17:00 on Monday 14 October at the latest. In line with our payment policy, you will be paid £40 per hour for your contribution.

Opportunity to be part of an Independent Advisory Group for the NIHR Policy Research Unit in Reproductive Health

The Policy Research Unit in Reproductive Health are looking for people with lived or learnt experience of reproductive health to join an independent advisory board. If you’re passionate about reproductive health across the life course, this could be for you! Read this blog to find out more about this great opportunity as well as how to apply.

The deadline for applications is Monday 21 October at 17:00.

Help us develop our second Community Survey

We are looking for two people to help develop and test our new Community Survey. This is a paid opportunity and should take about 2 hours of your time between October and December. You will be paid £30 per hour in line with our payment policy. If you are interested in supporting us with this, please email coproduction@ucl.ac.uk by 17:00 on Monday 14 October.

Co-Pro Cuppas

Thank you for coming to our October Co-Pro Cuppa! It was great to see many of you there and great discussions on a variety of topics including the importance of laying the groundwork for co-production by building trust and relationships and asking the question ‘Who is not in the room?’ so that you can work out how to remove barriers to access.

Our next Co-Pro Cuppas will take place on:

  • Tuesday 5 November at 11:00 (UK time)
  • Wednesday 4 December at 12:00 (UK time)
  • Tuesday 7 January at 13:30 (UK time)

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.

Title Image photo credit: Canva

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