Home Care Today
Developing Co-production Principles: Uniting AgeWell’s Journey
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Contents
Contents ........................................................................................................................................................1
1. Introduction ..........................................................................................................................................3
1.1 The project & the partnership ......................................................................................................3
1.2 What we wanted to achieve? Objectives .....................................................................................3
1.3 How did we do it? The co-design discovery process and internal dissemination of good
consumer engagement practice ...............................................................................................................4
1.4 Outputs .........................................................................................................................................4
2. UAW’s experiences: Case studies .........................................................................................................5
2.1 Case study 1: Seed to table project ..............................................................................................5
How it all started? .................................................................................................................................5
Bringing in other stakeholders and reaping the benefits of engaging others ......................................5
Extending the dream to consumers, their families and support network ............................................6
The future: Involving clients and the community in the program development .................................6
Rationale for delaying consumer involvement in the early stages of the project ................................7
Key learning messages from within ......................................................................................................7
2.2 Case Study 2: Advisory Groups Experience & Music for David – Serendipitous co-design ..........7
Experience with an Advisory Group ......................................................................................................7
Challenges encountered .......................................................................................................................8
Learnings from the Carers Advisory Group ...........................................................................................9
Music for David: Serendipitous Co-design ............................................................................................9
Co-producing to resolve the problem ...................................................................................................9
Challenges .......................................................................................................................................... 10
Learnings from the process ................................................................................................................ 10
2.3 Case Study 3: Fascinating fashion .............................................................................................. 11
The project - ....................................................................................................................................... 11
Adjusting the level of engagement according to skills and abilities .................................................. 11
Making the vision visible .................................................................................................................... 12
Puppet’s diaries – another project using people’s stories to craft activities and engaging others
from the community for support ....................................................................................................... 12
Benefits for staff ................................................................................................................................ 12
Challenges .......................................................................................................................................... 13
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Key learning messages ....................................................................................................................... 13
Would you recommend this type of project to your colleagues? ..................................................... 13
3. Summary of Learnings ....................................................................................................................... 14
4. Crafting Uniting AgeWell’s Co-design and Co-Production Principles ................................................ 14
4.1 Principles Explanation ................................................................................................................ 15
4.2 What staff need to co-create and co-produce? ......................................................................... 15
5. Tools to support co-creation and co-production ................................................................................... 16
5.1 Management Framework for Co-production ............................................................................ 17
5.2 What to remember? Tips generated from the case studies ...................................................... 18
5.3 Locating your efforts on the Ladder of Participation ................................................................ 19
6. References ............................................................................................................................................. 20
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1. Introduction
1.1 The project & the partnership
This project is the result of Uniting AgeWell’s commitment to consumer engagement and Home Care
Today’s continued efforts to promote consumer involvement in aged care through co-production.
As a large aged care service provider, Uniting AgeWell is committed to increasing the involvement of
older people in service development and delivery. At the heart of its values is the concept of
‘partnership’. That is, the commitment to work with older people and their support networks.
Consumer engagement is flourishing at Uniting AgeWell’s Community Care Services. It was the
intention of this small project to documents current examples to further embed the practice across
its service sites.
COTA Australia’s Home Care Today program have embraced co-production as a tool to increase
participation of older people in service design and implementation. To date COTA Australia’s Home
Care Today have run a series of workshops and small projects to assist aged care providers to develop
capabilities to implement participatory processes within their services. COTA Australia’s Home Care
Today is particularly interested in promoting the use of co-production.
For the purpose of this report we define co-production as a full collaboration between professionals
and consumers. In co-production professionals and consumers share power to plan and deliver
supports together. That is, working together as equals, to design, deliver and improve opportunities,
support and services that enable people to have a good life. Consumer engagement is fundamental
for the development of supports and services that are not only satisfactory to providers but are also
relevant to aged care consumers.
1.2 What we wanted to achieve? Objectives
The purpose of the project was to streamline and strengthen consumer engagement practice within
Uniting AgeWell with a view to progress UAW’s journey to co-production. This was to be achieved by:
Discovering existing co-design or other consumer engagement practices within Uniting
AgeWell’s Community Care Services
Documentation and dissemination of existing consumer engagement practice within Uniting
AgeWell’s Community Care services
Establishing a common understanding of what it means to participate in coproduction with
older people, and
Developing key co-production principles, distilled from its own work with consumers.
The partners (Uniting AgeWell and COTA Australia’s Home Care Today) expected that the collaborative
process. These encourage service quality improvement and greater consumer engagement across the
service.
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1.3 How did we do it? The co-design discovery process and internal dissemination
of good consumer engagement practice
COTA’s Home Care Today interviewed staff and community care managers who were either running
or had in the past run a project engaging older people.
Key questions guided this process:
What have been UAW’s experience of co-design?
What are the learnings?
What co-design and co-production principles can UAW extract from current and past
experiences of consumer engagement?
Following these interviews, a group session was organised with senior staff to explore the examples
in great detail using Sherry R. Arnstein’s ‘Ladder of Participation’. This was used as a framework to
establish a common understanding of consumer engagement and co-production and also to
generate UAW’s key co-production principles.
1.4 Outputs
The project delivered the following outputs:
• Three documented examples of co-production within the Community Care Service group
• One workshop with staff to develop Uniting AgeWell’s co-production principles.
• A project report.
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2. UAW’s experiences: Case studies
2.1 Case study 1: Seed to table project
The Seed to Table project is located at Uniting AgeWell Noble Park. The site is the home of a large
residential aged care facility as well as community care programs.
Uniting AgeWell Noble Park offers a range of programs for older people and people with special needs
aimed at maintaining older people active and connected with the community. The services include
recreational, social and cultural activities-Planned Activities Groups (PAG), on site café, seniors’ gym
healthy ageing programs and allied health services such as Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy,
Nursing Services, Podiatry, Healthy Promotion, Massage Therapy and the ‘Seed to Table’ which is the
focus of this project.
Seed to table is in its first stage. The project involves the creation and development of a dynamic
communal garden space where older people, people with disabilities and the community will interact
while engaged in various activities on the site. The area in construction will have a complete raised
vegetable garden, workshop station, an outdoor kitchen and each specific area will host different
activities.
This large project had a small beginning. It initially intended to resolve issues for a particular clientele.
However, as people started to engage and contribute with ideas the project was modified.
How it all started?
The Seed to Table is an off-shoot of a men’s shed idea which surfaced as a result of conversations
between the Community Programs Coordinator, the Physiotherapist and Occupational Therapist at
UAW Noble Park. There and then, they discovered that the activities conducted catered more for
women rather than men’s interests. The men, participants of the program, were seldom engaging in
the activities. After discussions, the staff concluded that these men had an active life prior to entering
the residential care facility. And, as a result, they were finding it difficult to adjust to the pace and type
of activities offered. It was time to reconnect the men with some of the activities they used to do in
their own home environment. This marked the beginning of it all.
At this stage, staff worked together to improve the program. However, consumers were not yet
involved.
Bringing in other stakeholders and reaping the benefits of engaging others
In order to progress the idea, the Community Program Coordinator sought and obtained management
support. Together, they identified a small area for a men’s shed. By then, more people started to join
the conversations. The conversations went on-and-on and the ideas started to flourish. At this point
not only staff were talking about the project but also, informally, users of services and supports also
started to imagine how existing and potential activities could be conducted in that new space: potting
with raised garden beds… pet animals, BBQs … The more they talked with each other, new ideas
started to surface.
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At this stage the kitchen’s chef joined the discussions and the ‘veggie garden’ idea became stronger.
They started to imagine the produce going to the Kitchen and meals being cooked for or by the group.
The social programming staff then joined in the conversation and said that if that was the case, they
could run some courses on ‘cooking for one’, ‘food handling’ etc.
As expected, some issues were raised about pets and food restrictions as the program was run within
the residential care setting. Issues were noted and resolved.
People continued to talk… the more they talked, the more ideas surfaced and the bigger the project
became - the initial idea has outgrown the space reserved for the shed and the shed did not represent
the desire of the stakeholders. The question for them at that point was: What are we going to do?
A bit of lateral thinking led the program coordinator to engage the facilities manager to discuss the
possibility of an alternative place for the potential programs. The facility manager got involved and
management was supportive.
Pressured by the new idea and the excitement of others to join the project, they tried to resolve their
biggest problem- physical space. To resolve the problem, staff met with the facilities manager, the
builder and the landscape designer. The community program coordinator explained the ideas and the
problems they encountered. While talking, they saw a green area which was previously considered
but discarded due to perceived accessibility issues. The landscape designer with his landscaper eyes,
explained that access would not be an obstacle for the usage of that space. A ramp could be fitted and
access could be granted to all abilities! A solution they could not see without the landscape designer
showing the benefit of involving direct and indirect stakeholders in the design process.
Extending the dream to consumers, their families and support network
The project at this point needed more financial support. A small grant from the Maggie Beer
Foundation enabled them to work on a recipe book. In order to collect the recipes, program
participants, staff, residents, their families and volunteers were invited to contribute to the
development of the book. The book was published and funds from the sales will go into the project.
The Maggie Beer Foundation is now involved in the project and has visited the site.
Now, 18 months after obtaining the initial approval and being supported by all levels of management
the project has concluded its first phase.
The future: Involving clients and the community in the program development
The men shed idea has been transformed by the involvement of staff across the organisation and from
passing comments by consumers.
As the project progresses the intention is to systematically involve consumers, the community and
residents in a broader conversation about the usage of the area – this is their opportunity for program
co-design and co-production.
The dream is to connect with the wider community to be part of the life at Uniting AgeWell Noble
Park: intergenerational interactions, exchange of knowledge and support, skills development,
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entertainment, all happening in that space. The initial small dream is now a dream that involves staff,
consumers, families, residents, and the community at large. A good example of how ideas grow and
how they are refined with the engagement of stakeholders.
Rationale for delaying consumer involvement in the early stages of the project
Staff did not want to ask people what they wanted and not have the capacity to deliver. In the
manager’s words, Staff were very conscious of asking when it was possible to deliver on the dreams.
“If I had consulted two years ago, people would have lost interest. Now we are at a point that
I would like to start to get more formal on consumer engagement. I think now is the time to
involve them so that they feel empowered. We will slowly move some responsibility onto
them.”
Key learning messages from within
See below key messages:
Conversations bread ideas
Flexibility is necessary when dealing with people – ideas sometimes change
More heads equal more ideas and sometimes more dilemmas
Nothing come fast and funding is hard to come by
Dreaming is fine. Dream big the worst thing that can happen is that you have to scale it down
or stage it
Motivation comes from how much benefit one can get from it.
Visual/ tangible things help to sell ideas. Get something concrete. If you have to sell people a
vision ‘what sells an idea is not so much as the enthusiasm and the vision but is the hard and
concrete examples people can see. The picture was only in my head. I needed the drawing – I
learned that I can use the flowery words, but the pretty drawing is a bigger part of the process
and for a long time I did not push enough for it’.
2.2 Case Study 2: Advisory Groups Experience & Music for David – Serendipitous
co-design
Experience with an Advisory Group
Consumer engagement at Forest Hill’s Carers Support Program is not a new endeavour. In fact, the
Carers Support Program had in the past established a Carers Advisory Group with eight members. The
group was formed to provide advice and act as a sounding-board to the service. Most of the advice
was focussed on documentation developed by the staff. Occasionally, they provided a new idea for
the service but this was not part of their brief. This group met for a period of over three years. They
were active and vocal - not afraid to speak their mind.
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One day, while commenting on a booklet staff were designing for consumers, this group came across
a statement of rights and responsibilities. To the staff’s surprise, the carers did not like the text which
explained the rights and responsibilities of consumers. They understood the importance of it but felt
the statement was patronizing – talking them down. Their dislike was such that they asked for the text
not to be included. In the end, the staff explained the reasons why a statement needed to be in the
booklet and they reached a compromise. The text ended up at the back of the booklet as a small
paragraph on rights and responsibilities with a link to the full statement somewhere else.
Unfortunately, this advisory group did not continue in 2014. Staff ran the advisory group for about 2
to 3 years but they could not attract more members. In addition, the program did not have enough
raw material to ask for further input and there was no funding to progress such activities. At that time,
the biggest issue for the service was supporting the delivery of care rather than support groups of
people.
Challenges encountered
Advisory groups are one of the ways aged care services can engage older people and their support
network. However, engagement of consumers in services does not come without challenges. For this
team the challenges were:
1. Finding the best way to engage people – groups tend to become stale and run out of topics.
There is often a need to get them interested in something.
‘the biggest challenges following on from our consultation is working out the best way to engage
our consumers’
‘we have a quarterly newsletter, we send out a note we ask for new members, but we did not
get responses. The new members tend to be those who were connected to the coordinators –
these people are the ones who actually respond to requests’
2. To assist people with system/political concerns
‘One thing that was very hard was to get them to understand that we would not do individual
advocacy on government policy. This meant it was hard to get them back. One way we tried to
manage this was reassuring them we would pass the message on … but this was at every
meeting…’
3. Introducing the idea of participation to working carers
“I think the only problem is to introduce this to the clients – particularly carers who are working.
They did not use the evenings to have meeting” because it was family time and trying to get
them meeting during the day was difficult.
4. Cater for two different groups of carers – working carers and home carers is challenging.
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Learnings from the Carers Advisory Group
According to the program manager, the lessons were many. Among those she cited the following:
It’s important to give people a purpose to be involved – they need to feel they are engaged in
something that is real. In these cases, they seemed to be more motivated. Find a specific goal
The team could have used a carers group as a sounding board during the preparation of the
documentation before we committed to the project ‘s methodology
Talk more about this with staff:
‘We do not talk too much about consumer engagement’
Support for consumers was not an issue:
‘a bit here and there… transport, respite but on the whole it was not laborious’.
‘If we were not able to finalise an issue at the meeting I would go back to them via email. And
we had minutes’
Keep communications flowing - management reported back to staff carers’ views. The results
were that staff end up asking for carers feedback when they had something in their minds.
Music for David: Serendipitous Co-design
Music for David was a research-based project developed to ascertain whether individualized music
with MP3 was useful or not as stress alleviator.
The research project was developed with university partnership support. The university researcher
provided advice to the team and developed a qualitative research project. Upon approval of the
proposal the research team designed the tools for its implementation. Once all tools were developed,
they recruited carers to implement the project.
While developing the forms, one of the key concerns among the staff was research rigour. The team
wanted a thorough research design to give them the ability to use the results widely. In order to ensure
rigor, the researchers introduced a detailed data recording system with meticulous descriptors on a
spreadsheet. The rationale for designing detailed forms was to support carers. Carers did not have to
think too much to describe what was happening and the team could easily measure their answers.
To staff’s surprise carers said they could not complete the spreadsheet. It was far too difficult and
impossible to do it taking into consideration the difficulties of the day-to-day schedule at home. The
challenges were such that some of them left the project.
Co-producing to resolve the problem
In the end, to resolve the issues, the team worked with the carers on the design of the new research
recording tool. As a result of carers’ involvement in the design of the tools the project ran much more
smoothly and was completed.
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The organisation now has a program following that initiative. The team worked with what they were
able to provide and still had enough information to construct the program.
The family that provided the initial funding continue to fund raise for it. They now employ a music
therapist – referrals come in from other programs. There is an assessment, the music therapist
discovers their interests and searches for the appropriate music to be installed on the device.
Challenges
Early drop out of the project – Some carers left but most of them stayed until the end.
Learnings from the process
From the manager’s perspective, the greatest learnings were:
1. We need to know the consumer well.
“… it is really being able to listen to where they are at and getting the program to fit in with
their needs. It is not quite so easy when you have budget constraint and so forth – often we
make it fit“
2. Customization is important - the ability to offer the program to those who are interested in it.
“From the consumer and carer’s point of view, despite the fact that there is enough evidence
that this activity is effective, some families are not comfortable with the technology. And that
was fine. For the most part there were good responses from families.”
3. Trustful relationship - another learning for the staff was the fact that people felt more
comfortable to join if they knew the people involved in it. The program was facilitated by one
of their own staff. This is so important because they felt comfortable and could interact much
more with the project.
4. Introduce consumers/carers at the early stages of any project
“If we had introduced some carers at the early stages we may have had some other clients
involved in the project.”
“We would not have a result if we had not adjusted – they would have all pulled out – we
would have missed the depth of the information we got out of the conversations. They all
provided feedback forms“
5. Better to co-design from the outset!
“I would recommend - definitely co-design is beneficial to organisations and its programs.”
This team did not set up a co-design process but they were certainly open to it – Well done Forest
Hill Carer Support team,
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2.3 Case Study 3: Fascinating fashion
The project - Fascinating Fashions began as an idea of a senior manager from Uniting AgeWell Tasmania. The
manager wanted to engage residents, their family, staff and community members in an innovative
and challenging project whilst also raising awareness of the large amount of materials that are wasted.
This manager was and still is passionate about life and about environmental conservation. She has a
real interest in recycling in an unusual way. According to her remarks, the recycling fashion idea was
and still is being used as one way of expanding people’s imagination on re-use showing them what
can be done with something that people often throw away.
As the Arts Coordinator for all seven sites/groups that joined in the project she was both coordinator
and artist. She had assistance from either a volunteer or a staff member at four sites. At some locations
she was also working with another experienced artist who was employed especially for that project.
The artist was interviewed for the write up of this case study.
Engaging frail older people and people with dementia
From many years of experience working with aged care residents, the project manager found that
participation is enhanced when people are presented with an idea. In this case, the participants were
then given the idea of creating crazy clothes from clean, discarded materials for a fashion parade. This
was enough to give them a finite image they readily responded by engaging in the project.
Despite the fact that engagement happened after the conceptualization of the project, consumers
were very involved in the decisions about the materials to use and the garment to be created. This
was done through discussions and experimentation with different options. For instance, with enough
stimulation people started to contribute their ideas. In this case, the project manager and the artist
talked about recycling trying to capture people’s imagination. According to their recount of the facts,
all of a sudden one lady said: why don’t we make a dress out of old magazines? The group was stunned
by it and loved the idea.
Consumers in this project had various levels of abilities. In some instances, people were very capable
but in some other instances they struggled to do complex tasks because of the various forms of
dementia displayed in the group. That’s why some of them had been engaged in similar activities
before. However, this example shows that provided that opportunities for participation is meaningful
and genuine and that small contributions also count. Consumer engagement can happen at many
levels and at different times.
Adjusting the level of engagement according to skills and abilities
Patience and love was required from all involved in the project. When people had a higher skill level,
it was easier to engage them. When their cognitive capacity was impaired, they were still engaged but
in less onerous activities. The participants had a good time. These lifestyle classes are not compulsory
but residents went and it was regarded that they really enjoyed them.
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In order to allow for the engagement of older people and people with disabilities the project was
broken down into multiple tasks which enabled everyone to participate. It was not the same task every
day. One day they cut squares, the other day they folded pieces of paper. So, those who could not do
some tasks that required cognitive skills would pass things on to the artist and they still felt involved.
“I never pushed people to do what they did not want or know what to do but I would
encourage them. I would really encourage people who could not do too much to do something.
For example, there was a lady that could not do much she had her hands covered in bandage…
but she was very happy – she could cut the pages and pass them down the line. They were
really happy with this. People used to say, I cannot do this, I am not creative. And I would say,
yes you are… and then when they master something we try something else.”
Making the vision visible
The challenge with this group was to help them to visualize the end result. They were not used to
making things out of recycled material and could not see how pieces of magazines could result in a
dress. Even closer to the end after people had mastered the tasks they would still say: I do not know
what we are doing? They could not visualize what was ahead. They knew what they were doing but
they could not visualize the results. It was not until they saw how it would look like that they started
to become more interested and engaged even more with the project.
Puppet’s diaries – another project using people’s stories to craft activities and engaging
others from the community for support
During this period, another fantastic project took place. This one was about people’s experiences of
what it was like to live in a residential care home. In this instance, project workers asked people what
they did not like about their day-to-day in the home and transformed it into a comedy sketch. For
example, they hated being woken up for medication. That was one of the strongest message of all. In
this project we designed and made nurse’s uniforms with old plastic bags … a big apron and etc… in
this project community members were also involved in the show.
“I had a friend who was able to come along and help us. She put on big eye lashes, make up,
platform shoes. She did a sketch and part of the fashion parade was this nurses uniform made
out of plastic bags“
Memories and recollections of people made the puppet diaries shows.
The puppet project was made out of people’s stories – how people used to recycle – they did not
waste stuff … they did not come from a waste society… it was a nice way to get the stories.”
Benefits for staff
Fascinating Fashions gave staff a new topic for conversation with residents, gave staff new insights
into the amazing range of skills the residents had, generated a wider range of conversation with
colleagues and with family members. It also brought a feeling of unity to the home/group as they
worked together to create ’their’ garment.
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Staff’s response to the project was positive. Staff embraced the project with enthusiasm, sometimes
coming during their afternoon tea break to assist residents in their creative efforts or making little
pieces at home and bringing them to the group to assist the overall effort. I think the staff are very
pleased to see the residents engaged in a project that is imaginative, challenging and generates
great pride in knowing they contributed to an outstanding result.
Challenges
When working with people with dementia and frail older people, support before and during
engagement activities are essential. At times, it was a little difficult according to the artist. Some
sites were more supportive then others and this made a difference. For example, at times I could not
engage a client because I was alone and could not support that person during the activity.
“I can say that a lot of support is required. Sometimes we did not get any assistance from any
other staff allocated to life style. It looked as if the project was not seen as important. When you
work with 12 people it becomes too difficult – having another staff member is really crucial –
otherwise they are there just waiting for some help- waiting to be shown how to do that
particular activity. Sometimes I had to give them some colouring in – for these things you need
staff support.”
Key learning messages
Consumer engagement is beneficial to staff. Some staff got so involved that they ended up
doing things for the project
Consumers can give ideas to shape projects even after the project has been conceived
For some, a more passive involvement is still meaningful
“some people are really unwell – sometimes they are happy just to be there – seeing
conversation, activity, laughter around them. One lady comes to mind. She was on a wheel
chair, unable to contribute but happy to be there for a couple of hours”
Consumer engagement can brighten people’s day - break their routine. The arts projects were
a bit wacky
Volunteers and supporters want to be appreciated
“They never offered me a cup of tea – because they do not give tea to staff. It would not hurt to
offer me a cup of tea”
Ask for feedback from consumers and your own staff
Encourage people, never pushed them.
Would you recommend this type of project to your colleagues?
Yes, providing it is carefully structured and managed by professional artists experienced at working
with residential care residents, and it was sufficiently funded by management.
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3. Summary of Learnings
A summary of the learnings is attached in the appendices as ‘Things to remember: tips generated
from the case studies’.
4. Crafting Uniting AgeWell’s Co-design and Co-Production Principles
Another agreed output of this project was facilitation of a workshop with senior managers to extract
Uniting AgeWell’s principles for co-production.
A team of nine staff members discussed the case studies presented and collectively agreed with the
following principles:
Partnership from the begining
Value people and their
contribution
Inclusion Adaptation
Clarity and Transparency
Focus on outcomes
Trust Purpose
Uniting AgeWell’s Principles for
Co-Creation & Co-Production
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4.1 Principles Explanation
Principles Explanation
Purpose Engaging with a purpose. That is, involving consumers and their support network in meaningful work.
Partnership from the beginning Start your work in partnership. Ask people at the very beginning what they want.
Value people and their contribution
Recognizing the different skills and attributes people bring to the co-production and co-creation work.
Inclusion Equal opportunity of engagement – no one is excluded because of cognitive impairment.
Clarity and transparency
Making use of simple language – avoiding professional jargon – for instance if necessary rename the term ‘co-production’. Ensure consumers understand your thought processes.
Trust Believing older people know what they want and have made always made personal decisions
Outcome Focus on the end result and make it happen
Adaptation
Having the ability to change with the circumstances. For instance, considering the level of engagement people want and can contribute
4.2 What staff need to co-create and co-produce?
According to Uniting AgeWell’s staff, to realize co-creation and co-production one need:
At the strategic level
Allocation of resources – this can be financial, human as well as in-kind such as time
Creating an innovative and co-creative culture
At the operational level
Permission from managers to do the necessary work for co-creation to occur
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Guidance to staff. That is, providing staff with
o Information about co-design and co-production
o Discussions on co-creation ideas and concepts (clarifying issues)
o Explanations for case managers about their new role in the CDC context
o Creating space for conversations to surface about advantages of ‘letting it go’ – being
happy with client’s choices
o Finding extrinsic rewards for staff
o Assisting staff to discovering job satisfaction – intrinsic rewards
Time – e.g. creating initiatives such high duties secondment up skilling staff allowing managers
to freeing up time
Making use of supervision – including discussions about co-production within the supervision
framework – avoid pre-empting outcomes, unconscious ageism, prescribing supports
Being guided about the next steps
Keep the conversation going
At individual level
Consumers, their support network and other stakeholders receive clear information about the
process and the issues at stake
Being enthusiastic.
5. Tools to support co-creation and co-production
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5.1 Management Framework for Co-production
Consider the external environment
Government policies
Consumers’s abilities
Consumer’s motivations
Representation
Cultural influences
Consumer cultural
Consider:
Vision – prioritise it
Strategy – set boundaries and scope
Structure
Resources – budget allocation
Cost / benefit analysis
Org culture
HR – skills/ Capabilities
Assumptions
Invite /select genuine
representation
Ensure diversity
Motivate participants
Market your efforts
Org culture
Transparency of Information
Honesty and reciprocity
Clear communication -
simple language
Reward and value
contributions consumers
Lead from the top
Share responsibilities
Meaningful activities
Resolve conflicts
CONTEXTUAL ANALYSIS DRIVING THE PROCESS
Seek feedback
Celebrate
Extend network
Promote
IMPROVE AND CELEBRATE
Thinking and planning Doing it Sustaining it
Exte
rnal
infl
uen
ces
Inte
rnal
infl
uen
ces
Enti
cin
g C
olla
bo
rati
ng
Tran
sfo
rmin
g
Review process
Iterate or replicate
Sustain efforts
Sust
ain
ing
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5.2 What to remember? Tips generated from the case studies
Conversations breed ideas
Flexibility is necessary when dealing with people – ideas sometimes changes
More heads equal more ideas and sometimes more dilemmas
Nothing come fast and funding is hard to come by
Dreaming is fine. Dream big the worst thing that can happen is that you have to scale down a bit or stage it.
Motivation comes from how much benefit one can get from it. And the practicalities of it are yet to be developed
Visual/ tangible things help to sell ideas. Get something concrete. If you have to sell people a vision –
Use resources you have – if need volunteers use them
Recommend it to my colleagues
Give people a purpose to be involved. Find a specific goal
Use carers’ and consumers’ ideas before committing to projects
Talk more about consumer engagement, co-design and co-production with staff
Support consumers when needed
Get back to them when you are not able to complete discussions
Keep communications flowing between consumers and staff
Get to know your consumer well
Customization is important -offer to those who are interest in it
Develop a trustful relationship - build co-design and co-production upon trust.
Introduce consumers/ carers at the early stages of any project
Co-design from the outset!
Consumer engagement is beneficial to staff. Some staff got so involved that they end up doing things for the project too.
Consumers can give ideas to shape projects even after the project has been conceived
For some, a more passive involvement is still meaningful
Consumer engagement can brighten people’s day - break their routine. The arts projects were a bit wacky
Volunteers and supporters wants to be appreciated
Ask for feedback from consumers and your own staff.
Encourage people, never pushed them.
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5.3 Locating your efforts on the Ladder of Participation
What’s your journey up the ladder?
Transformational co-production
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6. References
Arnstein, Sherry R., A Ladder of Citizen Participation, JAIP, Vol. 35, No. 4, July 1969, pp. 216-224.
Ottmann, G. 2015, Engagement of Older People in Experience-Based Co-Design.
Thorburn J, Lewis A, Shemmings D (1995) Paternalism or. Partnership? Family Involvement in Child
Protection Process. London.