Agenda, decisions and minutes

www.swansea.gov.uk/disclosuresofinterests

In accordance with the Code of Conduct adopted by the City & County of Swansea, the following interest was declared:

 

Councillor P N Bentu – Personal Interest – Minute No. 35 – Coproduction.

To approve & sign the Minutes of the previous meeting(s) as a correct record.

Resolved that the Minutes of the Organisational Transformation Corporate  Development Committee held on 24 January, 2023 be approved and signed as a correct record.

The Sustainable Policy Officer presented an update on Swansea Council Coproduction and Involvement Project and sought the Committee’s involvement in the development of a Corporate Coproduction Policy.

 

The Council had been striving to improve its coproduction capacity and capability in recent years and had some success, particularly in social care. For example, in July 2021 the Council endorsed the Regional Partnership Board’s Strategic Framework for Coproduction (Annex 1).

 

In our 2022-23 Corporate Plan the Council committed to continuing to strengthen “consultation, engagement, participation and coproduction with our stakeholders including our staff, citizens of Swansea and our partner organisations, so the Council could make informed decisions that improved the access, quality and delivery of services”. 

 

Against that background, in 2022 with funding from the Economic Recovery Fund, the Council procured external support, from Coproduction Lab Wales, to work with us over a 12-month period to build on the work and learning relating to co-productive approaches employed throughout the pandemic and to build further internal capacity and capability.

 

The project began in October 2022 with the first phase focusing on assessing the Council’s existing coproduction capability and experience, through the use of a survey and collection of examples of practice. In      addition, stakeholder mapping and the recruitment and initial training of nearly 40 Coproduction Champions from across services had taken place along with initial engagement with the Council’s senior leadership.

         

The learning phase of the project would continue until mid-March and an insight report was expected by the end of March 2023.  Work to date had already identified some good practice (e.g., Local Area Coordinators) as well as areas for improvement, including the need for a corporate coproduction and involvement policy. 

 

The project would lead the development of a draft Corporate Policy, which would identify when and how coproduction and involvement should be used in the context of wider interactive activity. The Policy would also help Elected Members and Officers to determine the most effective ways to coproduce projects ensuring a diversity of people with an interest in the matter are involved.

 

The policy which would help to embed a culture of coproduction across the organisation, would include good practice examples and a stakeholder map to facilitate the sharing of good practice. It would also be supported by practical resources which would also be developed in the next phase of the project, including:

 

·     A toolkit of resources to assist officers and members in supporting citizens to coproduce services

·     The development of a webpage where staff and officers can access practical coproduction resources

·     Developing a role description for Coproduction Champions and virtual Champions network

·     Training, including for Coproduction Champions, to help ensure we have relevant coproduction expertise within all our services

 

Over the coming months Coproduction Lab Wales would also provide advice and support on live projects / issues (yet to be identified) that would benefit from a co-productive approach.

 

The insight and experience of elected members, due to their close and unique relationship with ward constituents was particularly pertinent in taking forward the development of a coproduction policy.

 

The following areas required further consideration to inform the development of a draft policy:

 

·      Where coproduction ‘is’ and ‘is not’ an appropriate interactive activity and the difference between coproduction and involvement

 

·      The biggest barriers to coproduction and how they can be overcome

 

·      How coproduction complements representative democracy

 

·      The identification of Swansea Council coproduction stakeholders (see map at Annex 2) and how to reach out to individuals from seldom heard from groups

 

·      Links with the Regional Partnership Board Regional Coproduction Framework and Charter (Annex 1)

 

Mr M Corcoran (Coproduction Lab Wales) echoed the comments of the Sustainable Policy Officer and reiterated the benefits of  Coproduction. destination. 

 

The Committee discussions focussed on the following:

 

1)    The definition of partners and stakeholders.

2)    The benefits of coproduction (financial and non-financial).

3)    Challenges associated with engaging with diverse groups (or seldom heard groups).

4)    The selection, number and ongoing development of champions.

5)    Examples of existing coproduction.

 

The Chair thanked the Sustainable Policy Officer and Mr M Corcoran (Coproduction Lab Wales), who was also present, for their input.

 

Resolved that:

 

1)    The Sustainable Policy Officer consider convening workshops to engage Committee Members in the co-production process.

2)    The Sustainable Policy Officer provide regular update reports to the Committee.

The Chair presented ‘for information’ the Organisational Transformation Corporate Delivery Committee Work Plan 2022-23.

 

It was noted that the Lighting Policy would be discussed at the meeting on 28 March, 2023.