Co-production Corner
In collaboration with the Southampton Voluntary Services and the Southampton Collective, around 40 people came together on 1st December 2023 at October Books to explore co-production in a community of practice and in a safe space. The event built upon a previous co-production conversations workshop which brought people together to talk about the process of co-production and its benefits and challenges, as well as to network and exchange knowledge with one another.
The December event began by introducing the concept of co-production: “working together as equals to develop policy, and to design and deliver services”. Several co-production resources were on display, from literature to games and activities, which will be added to over time and available for everyone to borrow for their own events or learning.
People were invited to share how they wanted to work and behave in this space together, before contributing their personal experiences around what makes a safe space. The participants wrote down their ideas on petals which were added to grow the flower from the previous workshop. People then gathered into small groups to explore the following questions:
“What makes a space for brave listening and active questioning, so that we can empathise with different perspectives and reduce the sense of ‘them and us’ “?
What experiences or environments enable you to be brave?
Responses were similarly recorded on petals and collated and shared with the rest of the group. The event concluded by asking the participants “What needs more of our joint attention to help Southampton achieve the goal of being a city where everyone thrives?” People were invited to suggest burning health-related issues which could be explored through co-production techniques, and then vote on their favourite ideas. For example, access to green spaces for teenage girls was a popular issue as voted by the group, and will be explored in a future ‘Cuppa and a Chat’ session.
As a result of all the good ideas that were contributed, the next event will explore more techniques to explore such pressing issues while progressing co-production approaches around chosen topics. Contact Rebecca Kinge if you wish to be informed of the next event.