Who: As an associate for Platfform, I worked with Julian Support as part of the wider work of the New Systems Alliance.
Julian Support work across Norfolk and Suffolk to improve mental health and wellbeing. They support people in a range of housing schemes and other programmes, with a focus on empowering people to build and maintain the skills they need to lead an independent life of their choice.
The brief: We had about a day available to support Julian Support’s developing co-production practice, working with the co-production lead and the broader team of leaders and managers.
What I did:I delivered a half-day of training in person in Norfolk, followed-up with two online reflection and mentoring sessions. These sessions took place over approximately 3 months.
Julian Support already worked in a strengths-based way and had an explicit commitment to co-production, so my role was to provide a space for reflection and planning in the context of the organisation and its activities.
What they said:
- After the initial training session:
“It was a really interesting and insightful day, and I think it was really helpful in getting our leadership team to do some deeper reflection on the subject of co-production. I really appreciated your facilitation style and all the resources that you shared with us. Looking forward to the next session online.”
“Thank you for your expert delivery and sharing of knowledge and experiences. The feedback has been really positive and we look forward to catching up in a few weeks.” - After the last online session:
“Thanks so much for your input over the last couple of months. I have really appreciated your expertise and it has been so helpful having you facilitate our discussions with all your resources and experiences to draw on. You have an ease with which you take people with you, and I think that will have been really appreciated by some of our managers who are newer to these conversations, as well as those of us who have been more immersed in co-production. I have really enjoyed the discussions and I know others have too. It is already having an impact on our work, and I’m excited by how we will take this forward.”
