A think-tank paper said that by involving individuals and users in the design and delivery of public services through co-production, services could be more effective, efficient, and sustainable.
Source: David Boyle and Michael Harris, The Challenge of Co-Production: How equal partnerships between professionals and the public are crucial to improving public services, New Economics Foundation
Links: Paper
Date: 2009-Dec
An article examined mental health policy in Northern Ireland, and the extent to which service users had influenced the process of policy design and development. It raised questions about the extent to which a genuine commitment to, and investment in, user involvement had been achieved.
Source: Deirdre Heenan, 'Mental health policy in Northern Ireland: the nature and extent of user involvement', Social Policy and Society, Volume 8 Issue 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2009-Oct
A report presented the findings of a study of public service innovation in other countries. It emphasized that innovation and productivity came from forging stronger relationships with citizens, and that the most successful services had five distinguishing characteristics: using entitlements to put power in the hands of users of services; transforming accountability of services through real time, highly local information; incentivizing the creation of tailor-made, integrated, personalized services that citizens could shape; answering people's ambition for prevention rather than cure; and a new professionalism in front-line staff and leaders, with new organizational structures that encouraged this.
Source: Power in People's Hands: Learning from the world's best public services, Strategy Unit/Cabinet Office (020 7276 1881)
Links: Report | Cabinet Office press release
Date: 2009-Jul
A report said that civil service leaders needed to create opportunities for policy-makers to reconnect to the frontline. This transformation would involve government officials having more appreciation of the public as a resource and not as a problem. Ultimately it was the public's engagement, motivation, and aspirations that would provide the foundations for a more innovative approach to public service.
Source: Su Maddock, Change You Can Believe In: The Leadership of innovation, Sunningdale Institute/National School of Government (01344 634000)
Links: Report | Sunningdale Institute press release
Date: 2009-Jun
An article examined participation in decision-making by users of mental health services. Although government policies officially attempted to recognize users and their voices, they simultaneously reconstituted 'failures of recognition' in terms of status subordination and a 'disqualified identity' for service users.
Source: Lydia Lewis, 'Politics of recognition: what can a human rights perspective contribute to understanding users' experiences of involvement in mental health services?', Social Policy and Society, Volume 8 Issue 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2009-Apr
A report examined the benefits that local authorities, and their residents, enjoyed when they worked with user-led organizations. These benefits ranged from helping local authorities deliver greater personalization to improved engagement with hard-to-reach population groups.
Source: Putting People First: Working together with user-led organisations, Department of Health (web publication only) and other government departments
Links: Report
Date: 2009-Mar
The healthcare inspectorate said that National Health Service trusts in England were increasing their efforts to listen to patients and the public: but they needed to go further and ensure that these views were used to bring about change and improvement.
Source: Listening, Learning, Working Together? A national study of how well healthcare organisations engage local people in planning and improving their services, Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection (020 7448 9200)
Links: Report | CHAI press release | Pulse report
Date: 2009-Mar