Co-production in commissioning services
At Tempo Time Credits we work in partnership with a number of local authorities, Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCG’s), housing, service providers and grant funders to build, develop and support communities. With their help we co-produce solutions, encouraging more active involvement in the design and delivery of services and community-led activities.
What is co-production?
Co-production is a way of thinking about delivering public services. It’s built on the principle that it’s better for professionals to design services with communities than provide services to them. People who use services are best placed to help design them and they then become co-owned by the operator and the communities they serve. Citizens move from being passive recipients to becoming active partners with professionals supporting change rather than delivering it.
This approach is ‘value driven’ by everyone within a community having something of value to contribute. This contribution may not have a monetary value. It might be kindness, or a willingness to care for someone. The beauty of co-production is that it assigns value to these fundamental human gifts not valued in the money economy but essential for us all to exist.
Designing, commissioning and delivering services should start with what the community has to offer, looking for ways to use these skills and how these can allow individuals and communities to flourish.
Why is co-production important?
At the moment local services are under tremendous financial strain. Budgets are being cut alongside the community requesting more and more support from the services they rely on.
In the longer term, co-production can make delivering services more economical and better for the people they serve. As services are driven and built by the community they serve they are naturally more effective and relevant as a result.
The whole process creates buy-in and ownership. Co-produced services in which people participate also support community resilience and a greater sense of well-being.
Do co-produced services work?
Tempo has an excellent track record of building local and national networks of organisations, bringing people together in their local communities to carry out valued and important voluntary work.
Our award winning programs have been endorsed by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), the New Economics Foundation and the University of Cambridge.
Our website showcases a number of case studies on the impact our programs have had on the communities they serve. We’ve shared a particular example here of Tempo working within the NHS Framework.
Social Care and Health Case Study – Involving Medway
Tempo Time Credits were introduced in Medway in February 2017 as part of Involving Medway, an initiative commissioned by Medway CCG (Medway Clinical Commissioning Group), now Kent and Medway Clinical Commissioning Group. Involving Medway was established to explore effective ways of engaging local community-based groups and residents, in order to promote better health and wellbeing and to help transform local services.
It recognised an urgent need for radical innovation in the health and social care system to avoid catastrophic failure and called for the NHS to get serious about prevention, empowering patients to engage in communities and build a social movement for health and care.
By working with Tempo Time Credits, Involving Medway aims to create volunteering opportunities across Medway and recognise the contribution that the volunteers in the area make.
IMPACT
- Over 730 people have given more than 18,900 hours to their community since the program started.
- 72% of people earning Tempo Time Credits in Medway reported improved quality of life
- 52% said they felt more able to contribute to their community and other people as a result of the program.
Contact the Tempo Team to discuss how we can support you to co-produce your community services and engage your target audience to meet your specific goals.
