What is Co-production?
Co-production is at the heart of Camphill Village Trust – but what does the word actually mean? Phil Gibson, our national Co-Production Project Manager explains:
“I often get asked what we’re actually ‘producing!’ – Co-production is about supporting our community members to make their own decisions about how they live and the services they want the Trust to provide.
“It was our Co-Production team who supported community members to keep in touch throughout lockdown by creating Opportunity TV – our daily Zoom sessions where people shared their interests in everything from arts and crafts to mental health and wellbeing. And another great example of this is the ten Life of Opportunity statements we created last year, which are used for staff training and have become part of our new review scheme.”
The Life of Opportunity statements (shown left) reflect what’s important to our community members, from daily life, skills and training, to playing an active part in our community.
Life of Opportunity Review Scheme
Nine community members have taken up paid employment as members of the Co-Production team. They’ll be our first ever Life of Opportunity reviewers, using their experience to make sure the charity delivers opportunities for everyone.
Training our new team began in November, and – Covid permitting – our first reviews will take place in 2022. Reviewers will visit a different community to their own, to assess how well people in other communities are able to lead a life of opportunity.
Using the Life of Opportunity statements as a framework, they’ll highlight what’s working well, make recommendations about what changes could be made, and report back to our trustees. Their feedback will provide an invaluable insight into how well the Trust is meeting the needs of people with disabilities – from their own perspective.
Lee and Steph were keen to get involved: “I wanted to be able to help people,” Lee explains. After attending the training, he’s looking forward to getting out to other communities. “In the training session we talked about the statements, about confidentiality and how to write the reports. It helped me understand everything better.”
Steph adds:
“I want to be a voice for those who have difficulties communicating. Knowing I will be making a positive change is amazing!”
