Spotlight - Co-production: shaping services together

What's working well

Over the past year, we have strengthened how we work with people with lived experience to shape services and decisions, including recruiting a dedicated Co-production Lead. This work has involved:

• listening events to improve occupational therapy services
• workshops with mental health social workers to shape practice
• working with youth ambassadors to support preparing for adulthood
• involving experts by experience in recruitment and selection
• co-producing our new Practice Quality Assurance Framework.

These activities are helping us better understand what matters to people and make more informed, person-centred decisions.

Where we need to improve

We believe co-production should be more consistent, inclusive and embedded in everything we do. That’s why we are delivering a new 18-month Co-production Action Plan, putting lived experience at the heart of how we design services, make decisions and measure impact.

The plan focuses on co-production at three levels:

1. Individual - improving choice, control and personal outcomes
2. Service - involving people in how services work day-to-day
3. System - involving people in shaping strategic decisions and commissioning

How we will know it's working

Across all three levels, we will track:

• who is involved, and how diverse participation is
• how early and meaningfully people influence decisions
• where feedback and co-production lead to visible change
• improvements in how people feel heard, involved in decisions and satisfied with services
• a reduction in complaints and an increase in compliments relating to involvement.

From summer 2026, we will publish a clear annual co-production report showing what has changed, what has been achieved, and what happens next.

"Being part of interview panels has helped me feel valued and heard. With the right support, I’ve been able to share my views and see how lived experience can shape decisions. There is still more we can do to make things more accessible, and I’d like to see even more diverse voices involved."
Katie Peacock, Co-Chair of the Physical Disability and Sensory Impairment Partnership Board