Co-production in 2020: A tech revolution?

By James Anthony, Digital Communications Officer at SCIE

Growing up in Norfolk highlighted the stark contrasts in digital isolation

It’s been amazing to lead on SCIE’s Co-production Week 2020 and embrace new ways of working. This year, I’ve helped to co-produce and deliver a workshop with 50 participants, plus broadcast a webinar to nearly 500 people – completely remotely. This isn’t something we would even have dared to attempt before March.

It’s also made a big difference in changing attitudes to remote working. This might come as an eye-roll moment for some who have been asking organisations to be more accommodating to remote working for years, something which is vital for good co-production. Suddenly it has become acceptable. As Ossie Stuart put it during our webinar “What [COVID-19] has shown us is that, people can change their minds”.

Those of us celebrating a tech revolution and welcoming this shift in attitudes, however, ought to be cautious.

There are many people here in the UK who don’t have great access to technology. These barriers to using technology tend to be higher for older people, those with disabilities or ethnic minorities. All of these groups need to be fully engaged for meaningful co-production to take place.

It feels strange to think about a life without connective technology all around us, having grown up with an internet connection as part of my childhood. I really felt this difference when I started my working life at a small carers charity in Norwich and across Norfolk, where many people were isolated because of their lack of access to technology, and couldn’t participate in co-produced work due to struggles in using email, smartphones, or websites.

Our answer then was to stick to traditional methods of communication including printed materials, phone calls and face-to-face visits. If organisations are looking to cut back on spending, it might be tempting to stop sending physical letters or reduce staff time for phone calls and visits, but they really are valuable. Their loss would be felt by those for whom hopping onto the internet is not a viable substitute. For any organisations engaging in co-production – great – but make sure to check you’re still using those traditional communication methods to include everyone.

More importantly, in the long term, resources need to prioritise digital inclusion. If service providers are serious about co-producing design, delivery and evaluation of a service with people who use them then time, effort and money needs to be invested into building digital skills for all. Don’t just rely on the ‘tech revolution’ that COVID-19 has brought us.

And of course – where co-production and digital inclusion is done well, celebrate it! That’s what Co-production Week is all about. Watch our webinar to find out more.