Attitudes towards co-production

Findings from SCIE’s survey as part of National Co-production Week 2019.

Conducting the survey

As part of our work for National Co-production Week at the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE), we created a nationwide online survey to get a picture of what people across the UK think about co-production in social care. We wanted to get a picture of attitudes in the sector, and to see if genuine coproduction and sharing of power is happening for people who use services, carers and professionals working in social care.

Those involved in designing and delivering or accessing care and support services were invited to agree or disagree to various degrees of strength, with statements related to co-production.

A total of 343 people submitted responses to our questions.

More information about how this survey was conducted, including questions asked, can be viewed in the report here.

People who use services and carers

Having a say

We often talk about co-production as ‘having a voice’ in the way services are developed. It is of course, much more than that. However, it’s a good starting point to establish how involved people feel in the design and delivery of their support services.

As a whole, people who use services and carers reported that they did not feel that they had a say in how their support services were designed and delivered. Only 34% of our respondents felt they had a say. Amongst all people who use services and carers, only 11% positively, strongly or completely agreed that they had a say in how their services were designed and delivered.

Sharing power

For Co-production Week 2019, the theme is sharing power, specifically how this needs to be shared more equally with people who use services and carers. After all, it is only when everyone’s contribution is valued equally and power is shared that meaningful co-production can happen. We found this attitude was prevalent amongst those carers and people who use services who answered our survey. 94% of the carers and people who use services who submitted answers felt that power needed to be shared more equally between themselves and those working in the sector.

Using services

It is important that people who need care and support services are accessing the type of services they want. 95% of people who use services and carers said they would prefer to use services that had been co-produced

Those working in the sector

An appetite for co-production

There seems to be a real appetite for being part of co-produced services from those working in social care. Overall, 96% of them reported that they would prefer to work as part of services that were designed and delivered in equal partnership between themselves, carers and people who use services.

Those working in the care sector were especially enthusiastic about preferring to work as part of services that had been co-produced. 87% of those working in the sector either positively, strongly or completely agreed that it would be better working for services designed and delivered with those who would use them.

Willing to share power

There was a similarly positive attitude towards sharing their power with people who use services and carers. 95% of professionals agreed that power needs to be shared more equally with those using a service.

Summarising the findings

A large majority of those working in the sector, carers and people who use services who answered our survey reported that they wanted to see co-production put into practice - something which is not currently happening for everyone.

SCIE want to ensure that power is shared more equally when it comes to the design, delivery and evaluation of social care and support services, making them better for all.