This is Co-Production Week 2023. We thought we’d mark it by taking a look back to how our approach to Co-Production developed, and in particular how the Co-Pros Group came about.
MacIntyre have been working together for a long time with people who draw on our support. Our approach is collaborative. We’ve developed our DNA and MacIntyre’s Big Plan jointly.
Working together
But a few years ago when talking with people we realised it was time to formalise this process.
A small group came together during the early days of Covid to meet online. We wanted to get some input from outside MacIntyre as well, so we invited Gary and Sam from Learning Disability England to be part of our group.
Over a number of meetings and discussions, we decided what was important and we talked about how to express it.
True Co-Production
We wanted to go beyond a previous initiative called ‘Involving Everyone’. Our meetings highlighted that people who draw on our support don’t want to be just ‘involved’ in decisions about their lives. They want to be true co-producers of what MacIntyre offers.
Eventually, we called our group the Co-Pros but this was a while coming. So we thought we’d give you a glimpse into those early days when we were thrashing things out and sharing ideas. We didn’t always agree, and that was great, and refreshing. But we were always moving forward together in the right direction.
Our early meetings
This short video pulls together clips from some of those early meetings so you can see our process. Some of the people in those early meetings are no longer involved with MacIntyre, but they were central to our Co-Pros group and approach being what it is today, and we remember them all so warmly.
More to come
Look out for other videos and news items this week exploring our approach to working together.
