29 June – 3 July 2026
Care equity: who gets care?
SCIE’s Co-production Week 2026 runs from Monday 29 June to Friday 3 July, championing the power of co-production in shaping better, more inclusive social care. This year’s theme is Care Equity — exploring what it means to ensure that everyone, regardless of their background, identity or circumstances, has equal access to high-quality social care.
Co-production Week highlights how working in genuine partnership leads to stronger, more responsive services. It brings together people who use services, carers, practitioners and organisations to share learning, inspire good practice, and spark important conversations about the future of care.
What is co-production?
Co-production is about working in equal partnership with people receiving social care, carers and families, so that they can influence the way that services are designed, commissioned and delivered. It offers the chance to transform health and social care to a model that offers people real choice and control. By working this way, we can build systems that truly reflect people’s needs, strengths and aspirations.
Why it matters?
Throughout the week, we will:
- Highlight the benefits of co-production in practice
- Share examples of effective and meaningful partnership working
- Stimulate discussion and debate
- Celebrate the contributions of people with lived experience and carers
Co-production Week: Events Programme
Join SCIE for a week of inspiring, practical and thought provoking sessions exploring how co-production can drive fairer, more equitable care. Each event brings together people with lived experience, practitioners, leaders and partners to share learning, challenge thinking and shape change.
Co-production: The key to achieving care equity
Monday 29 June 11:00 – 12:30
Kick off Co-production Week with an inspiring session exploring how co-production can drive real change in care equity.
Discover the Care Equity Evidence Hub, hear the latest insights from research, and take part in interactive discussions about tackling inequality. With lived experience at the heart, this session offers powerful perspectives and practical ideas you can use in your work.
Come ready to share, learn and help shape fairer services for all!
Who’s Missing? Inclusive co-production in practice
Tuesday 30 June 13:30 – 15:00
Who isn’t in the room – and why?
This engaging session explores how to reach and involve communities whose voices are too often unheard. Featuring real examples from local authorities and insights from lived experience, it highlights what inclusive co-production looks like in practice.
Leave with fresh ideas and practical approaches to make your work more inclusive and impactful!
West Midlands ADASS AI Playbook
Wednesday 1 July 10:30 – 11:30
Discover how co-production is shaping innovation in social care.
This interactive session showcases the West Midlands ADASS AI Playbook which has been co-produced with people who draw on care and support to improve choice, control and everyday life. Watch a live demo, hear from contributors, and explore how this tool could work for you.
Try it out, share your feedback, and help shape the future of AI in care!
Towards Fair Care
Thursday 2 July 14:00 – 16:00
Is care fair – and if not, why not?
This interactive workshop creates space for open, honest conversations about care equity. Bringing together lived experience, carers and system partners, the session explores barriers, challenges and solutions through discussion and shared learning.
Be part of the conversation and help shape ideas that will inform future work on fairer care!
Valuing and recognising lived experience: from good intentions to fair practice
Friday 3 July, 14:00 – 15:30
How do we move from saying lived experience matters to truly valuing it?
This powerful panel tackles the realities of recognition, payment and fairness in co-production. Explore challenges such as benefits, power and trauma-informed practice and help define what good looks like.
Expect honest discussion, practical solutions and clear calls to action!
This year’s theme
Care equity sits at the heart of SCIE’s work. In April 2026 we launched the Care Equity Evidence Hub, a curated resource bringing together research, case studies and data on inequities in access to, experience of, and outcomes from social care. Co-production Week 2026 will build on that foundation — exploring how working in genuine partnership with people who draw on care and support can drive meaningful progress towards equity.
The theme puts equity at the centre of the conversation and challenges us to reflect on:
- who is involved in shaping services
- whose voices are heard and whose are missing
- how we can break down barriers and promote inclusion
- what fairness really looks like in care and support.
Equity in co-production means ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to contribute, particularly those whose voices are too often overlooked. It’s about embedding fairness, respect and inclusion at every stage of design and delivery.
Get involved
Whether you’re a professional, a person with lived experience, or part of a community organisation, there are many ways to take part:
- join events and discussions throughout the week
- share your co-production stories and achievements
- reflect on how your organisation promotes equitable partnerships
- start conversations about improving practice.
Let’s come together to explore ‘Who gets care?’ and work towards a future where co-production and equity are at the heart of social care.
Our co-production history
SCIE has a long history of being at the forefront of co-production. To find out more about SCIE’s work around co-production see: