Involving people: putting principles into practice

Our co-design and involvement principles guide us. We are clear about what’s in scope, we value people’s contributions and make projects as accessible as we can.

We began our journey into involvement and co-design[1] in 2021. Our blog, ‘Amplifying voices, shaping change’, explains how Barnwood Circle members shape what we do at Barnwood.

We are a values-based and learning organisation. As a team, we set ourselves the mission to learn how to involve people well. This learning is ongoing. Below is a rundown of the principles we have developed over the last 3 years. These have guided our co-design projects and helped us to run them purposefully.

We’ve done around 15 co-design projects so far, including: creating criteria for a new themed grant fund; designing key messages and learning outcomes for a campaign; creating a booklet about Barnwood Trust; and creating accessible and welcoming events. In each case, Barnwood Circle members have worked in collaboration with relevant staff to deliver something key for the Trust to be able to deliver its mission.

Lived and learned experience

We don’t expect people with lived experience to have the answers, and we don’t ask people to share experiences for their own sake but to inform our collaboration. We find resources and examples to help stimulate the conversations because this is much easier than starting with a blank piece of paper.

When we embark on a new project we think about the different perspectives we need to help us develop workable solutions together. Each person in the project approaches the task through a lens of lived or learned experience, or both. We work in partnership, recognising that we have different skills and responsibilities within the project. The views of staff and Circle members hold equal importance.

In practice:

• We make the most of people’s different strengths and experiences.
• We bring tangible examples and ideas to test and explore as a group.
• We use a lead facilitator so staff and members can contribute equally.
• We pay members for their contribution and link people to a Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) advisor if needed.

It took time to land on a policy for paying ‘experts by lived experience’ because we wanted to be sure that payments wouldn’t create problems for our members. Valuing participants’ time and expertise is an important principle for this work.

Clear purpose and roles

We have learnt to put clear parameters in place such as project aims, what will happen when, and who will make final decisions. We realised early on that the more defined the outputs for a project (e.g., what we will handover at the end), the clearer everyone is about what is in scope and what is not in scope.

Roles need to be clearly defined as well. What exactly is the nature of the involvement? Are we giving opinions about work that’s nearing completion, or are we creating something new?

As a staff team, we need to think things through first to create a clear and purposeful project brief. This allows us to be clear and purposeful as a group

In practice:

• We write a project brief with defined outputs and a short role description.
• We invite expressions of interest and select members against the skills and experiences needed.
• We provide a written agreement outlining the commitment on both sides.

Plan and adapt

We take a planned yet flexible approach to projects. As outlined above, there isn’t room for ambiguity or a wide-open brief as this can lead to confusion and frustration. Expectations need to be clearly defined for everyone, with an end point in sight. So, at the outset, we map the journey towards our end goals and outputs, break the project down into distinct steps, and let people know what we plan to do together. But, alongside this, we know we need to be brave to pause and reassess a project and change course if needed. Scheduling time to reflect on how things are going is the only way we have found to manage this: Where are we headed? Are we getting the answers and ideas we need? What is the energy and dynamic of the group?

In practice:

• We produce flexible overarching plans, plus detailed session plans.
• We debrief as a staff team after every session to check progress.
• We are ready to change course to get to the best outcome.

Build skills and confidence

In our experience, rushing co-design doesn’t work. Each project starts with a new group who need to establish a way of working together. Some groundwork might be necessary at the start of the project to help with this.

As staff, our starting point is different, we have usually been closer to the work for a while and we may be more experienced in project working. There is often an inherent imbalance of knowledge, confidence and power. We can’t even things out completely but we stay conscious of these inequities. We try to strip back our assumptions about what is ‘widely known’ and offer ways for people to have the tools and information they need to make informed judgements. We try to be transparent about who has what responsibilities and decision-making powers.

In practice:

• We co-create a group agreement for how we want to work together.
• We consider gaps in access to information, and develop people’s skills, knowledge and understanding, if needed.

All voices are heard and valued

We want everyone joining a project with us to feel able to bring their whole self. For people to know that they will be heard, valued and respected is key to this. We foster an environment where everyone can try out ideas and experiment – there is no such thing as a silly idea or a silly question. We want participants to be confident, creative and able to challenge. To make this possible, building relationships in the group, attending to individual needs, and managing the dynamics in the room are all important.

In practice:

• We plan and adapt sessions, allowing for a manageable pace.
• We use breakout groups to help people feel comfortable sharing views and pre-plan these, considering different styles of working.
• We provide information in advance so people can prepare

Remove barriers to involvement

We do our best to normalise accessibility. We ask for, and proactively make, appropriate adjustments without a fuss, and we flex around individual needs. We try to create activities which are accessible for everyone, adapting as needed.

Specific adjustments might include changing the environment, offering alternatives to group work, or providing information in different formats. Removing barriers to involvement is on us. We want to create a culture where asking for something is okay.

In practice:

• We record and pre-empt people’s requirements on the project.
• We utilise accessible venues and materials as standard.
• We offer bespoke options so members can contribute in a way that works for them.

Be honest and real

We have learned not to shy away from hard topics. We try to be real and build trust. As a staff team, we are comfortable to admit that we don’t have all the answers and we try to own our mistakes when they happen. We invite people to say what they think in as easy and managed way as we can, and we follow up with people to understand what we or the group can do better.

But this isn’t easy. We have to hold ourselves and each other to account on this. It takes confidence to own our individual and shared challenges and mistakes, so this will always be a work in progress.

In practice:

• We ask for regular feedback in different ways, and act on it.

Share outcomes and celebrate

We are often told that Barnwood could celebrate our successes more. Well, our co-design projects are a place where celebration comes easily. Success for us is noting how well we have worked together as a group, the fact that we have produced something worthwhile together, and valuing individual and collective achievements in the project. Our hope is that being involved helps members feel proud and confident to take up opportunities outside Barnwood.

People tell us that being a part of a project is significant for them – knowing that they are making a difference. So, we try to keep co-design participants in the loop with any work they have been involved in shaping.

In practice:

• We formally thank members for their contributions.
• We share project successes in Barnwood Circle newsletters and events.
• We share project outcomes with groups after the co-design is over.

[1] We use the term ‘co-design’ from the spectrum or ladder of participation. This is because the projects we do are determined by Barnwood – the brief is set by us and the outcomes of the project are on us.