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We have embraced co-production and our learning could shake-up the way landlords think about the world
We are keen to share our co-production learning and demonstrate how a co-pro inclusive culture can reap great rewards in the housing sector. As the only housing association-led Ageing Better programme, we are in a unique position to do so, writes Vicky O’Donoghue
Every year, the Social Care Institute for Excellence puts a spotlight on co-production with ‘National Co-production Week’. At South Yorkshire Housing Association (SYHA), we welcome this opportunity to shout about our co-production good practice as it is interwoven within the fabric of our work and is at the heart of our Ageing Better programme. This is now in its sixth year, and we have certainly learned a lot over that time.
Age Better in Sheffield is part of a national programme involving 14 Ageing Better partner areas led by voluntary sector organisations. It is funded by the National Lottery Community Fund, which invested £78m to improve the lives of people aged 50 and over by reducing isolation and loneliness.
One of the core funding provisions stipulated that all decision-making and delivery must involve the people it is intending to serve.
Age Better in Sheffield is the only housing association-led Ageing Better programme, which makes our position unique, and we are keen to share our co-production learning with the housing sector and demonstrate how a co-pro inclusive culture is well worth the time and energy and reaps great rewards.
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SYHA also leads on a national project on behalf of the 14 partner areas to pull together the in-depth co-production learning from across the network. The aim is to co-create a national toolkit to include comprehensive online resources that will benefit anyone wishing to embark on co-production or develop good practice.
“Recognising people as ‘assets’ is the opportunity to nurture untapped potential and we do this by listening to people’s stories and then combining their knowledge and experience with our own expertise”
For National Co-production Week, the project is featuring Ageing Better’s interpretations of key co-production principles such as “ensuring two-way reciprocal relationships” and “recognising people as assets”, to show what it means to the people on the ground.
One thing that can be confusing is the jargon used around co-production, when, at its core, co-production is simply about people coming together to find a shared solution – a meeting of hearts and minds so to speak.
From our point of view, recognising people as ‘assets’ is the opportunity to nurture untapped potential and we do this by listening to people’s stories and then combining their knowledge and experience with our own expertise.
By building reciprocal relationships we can ensure there is connectivity within our communities and that everything and everyone links together well. This means we can produce outcomes that are much more aligned with what our customers need.
SYHA has adopted co-production methods within our housing schemes to ensure that what we offer is customer led and customer driven. We know from feedback that this makes our customers feel valued and empowered.
This contribution means that our customers become the driving force behind the development of our Live Well services, and our job is to engage with the right people and equip them with the right tools and skills that enable them to take part.
SYHA in collaboration with Ageing Better and Clarion Futures put together a guide for housing associations, which sets out recommendations for reducing loneliness and isolation among older people.Co-production enabled us to design a detailed guide that was so much accessible than it would have been if we hadn’t drawn from the wealth of learning, knowledge and evidence made available through the Ageing Better Programme areas.
“Our hope is that our online toolkit will support and strengthen co-production activity within the housing sector and beyond”
With co-production methods firmly embedded, Ageing Better was quickly able to adapt to the coronavirus pandemic and find new ways reaching out to meet the needs of older people, when the risk of loneliness and isolation hit an all-time high.
Through our ‘co-producing in a crisis blog series‘, we were able to share some of the ways in which this happened.
A great example of this comes from Leeds’ Ageing Better programme, Time to Shine, which co-produced a new Time to Shine magazine to help older people feel connected and offer space to contribute their stories.
Ageing Well Torbay linked with their existing networks and pooled resources to create the Torbay Community Coronavirus Hotline.
Our sector is fortunate to have strong foundations in place through the networks we share, which makes a great springboard for co-production good practice. We know there are some amazing things already happening, and our hope is that our online toolkit will support and strengthen co-production activity within the housing sector and beyond.
We will share what we now know through our test-and-learn approach to co-production and evidence why it is the best way forward.
The toolkit will be launch in early 2021. For more information, contact me at v.odonoghue@syha.co.uk.
Vicky O’Donoghue, co-production lead, South Yorkshire Housing Association
