Co-Production

Co-production is a subject close to the hearts of all of us here at SERC.  For that reason, we're very critical if it's done badly, or - worst of all - cynically (for example, when it's just used as a new piece of jargon, or as a way of papering over cuts to services, or as a way to abdicate responsibility for decisions).

But if done well, then in our experience it is probably the most socially effective way to run an organisation of them all. 

So what is it?  Well, in the simplest terms, it simply means everyone producing things together - doing things with people, not for them or to them.  Unlike similar predecessor terms (service user representation, engaging user voice, user-led commissioning and so on), the emphasis in co-production is on it being a permanent process that will be different every time you design and then implement a new aspect of your organisation's work - a journey rather than a destination.

The other point to note about co-production is that it is transformative: in other words, it cannot be done without significant changes to existing behaviour on the part of those practising it.  If done correctly, it usually also leads to significant changes to the existing behaviour of everyone involved with an organisation whether service user, trustee, volunteer or staff member.

The evidence on co-production indicates that it works best in services, "where the social issues are chronic and complex, and the solutions are contested".  (This quote is from page 26 of this Cabinet Office document, which is well worth reading in full if you want an academic type overview of the concept.  Don't be put off by the fact that it was written in 2009 - the warning at the bottom of each page along the lines of "This is not a statement of government policy" is as true now as it was then unfortunately.)

An excellent starting point, and we'll declare some nepotism of our own here, is 2015 Clore Fellow Jenny O'Hara Jakeway's report 'Humanising Services and Building Communities' - subtitled 'I.e. Co-production - how the hell do you do it?').  Jenny is a friend of ours, but even if she wasn't, the personal experience and insights based on actually trying to run a social organisation on co-productive principles for many years in one of the toughest estates in Wales would raise this above the other introductions out there. 

If you then want to dive fully into the world of 'co-pro', Nesta's guide is still a pretty comprehensive and useful compendium of learning, research and practical tools - download it here to begin your journey...

Impact Management

Impact management is the new term for what was previously known in various guises as M&E (monitoring and evaluation), MEL (monitoring evaluation and learning), MEAL (monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning), PMEAL (planning, monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning), IA (impact assessment), IE (impact evaluation) or impact measurement (IMe).  These terms are not all exactly coterminous, but basically generally mean the same thing - working out what the effects of your work have been, good and/or bad, and using that information to make it more effective in the future.

Making basic concepts more complicated can be a bad thing, but - as the list above indicates - in this instance the original concepts were often a bit of a mouthful.  It's also a useful change.  We at SERC have all experienced how frustrating it is when hard-won learning around issues of social effectiveness gets consigned to the cupboard once the reports containing them have been produced, and that's what impact management is designed to forestall.

There is a lot of stuff about it out there, but the clearest starting point is Social Value UK's blog on the issue.  In simple terms, impact management means (to paraphrase NPC's useful definition) setting up evaluation so it feeds back into the delivery of your work.

The most important thing about impact management is that it doesn't require reams of academic level research.  Instead it's about doing what you can with what you have - as the blog flags up, all you need is 'enough precision to make a decision'.  So it's ideal for smaller organisations and projects.

Big funders (and some big companies) like it too, so it could be the coming thing.  So if you want to get more of an idea of what it means in really practical, day-to-day terms, this article from Odd Arts is probably the best route map to what it looks like.

Lean Startup Theory

If there was ever a theory of organisational effectiveness that deserved the description 'buzzword', it's this one. Beloved of Silicon Valley and private company execs throughout the world, it refers to a particular way of creating and running new companies.  So what is 'lean' (as its rather fervent disciples like to call it)?

The classic example of LST always given is of someone in the US who thought that people might buy shoes online if given the chance.  With LST, you don't wait for the perfect megaproduct/project to come along, but get on with launching something small-scale (a 'Minimum Viable Product' in LST jargon) to test whether the idea you have has any chance of working.  The sooner your MVP is out there getting feedback, even if the evaluation processes are very rough and ready, the easier it will be to move up to the next level.

So the would-be shoe seller, rather than starting a company selling shoes online, building a big automated ordering system for it and so on, he simply took photos of shoes at his local shoe store instead.  He then put them on a simple website and, if anyone wanted any, went down and bought them from the store at full price.  When he was getting more orders than he could afford to subsidise the postage on, he knew the idea was a goer.  Unkind critics might think this is a long-winded way of describing the term 'pilot project', but LST enthusiasts insist it's more than that.

The concept of 'pivoting' is also particularly important to LST.  If the feedback on your MVP isn't good, you just change it to whatever it is that the feedback is saying would work.  The concept of 'validated learning' is also crucial - basically evaluating as frequently as possible (days/weeks rather than after months or years) and improving what you're doing after every evaluation.  According to the founder of LST, every bit of your organisation should also be treated like its own individual startup, with budgets divided accordingly.

So does it translate to a way of running social organisations?  The short answer is no.  Starting up a social project to help (say) mental health service users that you know is flawed raises moral objections in a way that a flawed shoe sales website does not.  Pivoting from providing support for (say) mental health service users to support for (say) mothers suffering from post-natal depression also affects people's lives a lot more than a private company flipping from selling shoes to (say) money off vouchers over the internet.  From an evaluation standpoint as well, validated learning sounds good, but in practice it's often indistinguishable from bad evaluation with a very limited sample of users - there's always a tradeoff between swiftness and quality when it comes to measuring impact.

With all these business guru type approaches too, the nice shiny theory is also not usually the most important part of the story.  In the case of the online shoe seller, it was good old fashioned nepotism that actually turned his business from a startup into a proper company, as when all else had failed he was able to borrow $150,000 from his friends and get his brother's father-in-law to introduce him to some venture capitalists he happened to know.

But forewarned is forearmed, and there are very few theories from which absolutely nothing can be learnt - so if you want to make up your own mind, this guide from the founder of LST is as good a starting point as any.

RESOURCE LIST:

Impact Management

Impact management is the new term for what was previously known in various guises as M&E (monitoring and evaluation), MEL (monitoring evaluation and learning), MEAL (monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning), PMEAL (planning, monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning), IA (impact assessment), IE (impact evaluation) or impact measurement (IMe).  These terms are not all exactly coterminous, but basically generally mean the same thing...

(Click here to read more about this resource.)

Lean Start Up Theory

If there was ever a theory of organisational effectiveness that deserved the description 'buzzword', it's this one. Beloved of Silicon Valley and private company execs throughout the world, it refers to a particular way of creating and running new companies.  So what is 'lean' (as its rather fervent disciples like to call it)?

The classic example of LST always given is ...

(Click here to read more about this resource.)

Co-Production

Co-production is a subject close to the hearts of all of us here at SERC.  For that reason, we're very critical if it's done badly, or - worst of all - cynically (for example, when it's just used as a new piece of jargon, or as a way of papering over cuts to services, or as a way to abdicate responsibility for decisions).

But if done well, then in our experience it is probably the most socially effective way to run an organisation of them all. 

So what is it?  Well, in the simplest terms, it simply means...

(Click here to read more about this resource.)

Fundraising Futures

All social projects need resources. With volunteering rates in long-term and (unless David Cameron can save the day) potentially irreversible decline, now more than ever it is properly funded projects and organisations that will make the difference in terms of increasing the social good in the UK.

Even the most volunteer-heavy project is far from cost-free.  And there are many other looming clouds on the horizon that might make any organisation want to focus even more on fundraising...

(Click here to read more about this resource.)

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