This week marked the kick off of an exciting new community of practice, bringing together four local areas to explore how we can build meaningful co-production infrastructure and use Making It Real to move from theory into genuine, lived reality.
The energy in the room was palpable. There was a shared ambition not to create another talking shop, but to ensure people leave with the tools, resources and confidence they need to make co-production real in their local areas in practice, not just on paper.
Why this matters now
Across the sector, co-production is widely talked about – but too often it becomes a set of isolated projects, held by a small number of committed people, rather than a consistent way of working across a whole place. This community of practice is about changing that.
It’s about building the conditions for co-production to be visible, credible and sustained: where people with lived experience shape priorities, decision-making, and culture change at scale – and where local systems can confidently demonstrate that co-production is not tokenistic, but embedded in how services are designed, delivered and improved.
Learning from experience: Stockport and Doncaster
We were fortunate to hear from Stockport and Doncaster, who shared their experiences of developing co-production boards and embedding Making It Real into their work. What really stood out was their honesty.
Both areas acknowledged that this work takes time. Building strong, meaningful co-production structures isn’t quick or easy – but it is worth it. They spoke openly about being on a continuous improvement journey, and that openness felt incredibly powerful.
It’s exactly what our sector needs: permission to learn, adapt and keep getting better, rather than striving for perfection from day one. The clearest message was this: co-production isn’t a destination – it’s a way of working you keep choosing, strengthening and protecting.
Why a Co-production Board?
As we explored what helps co-production thrive, the conversation kept returning to the role of co-production (or “Making It Real”) boards.
A board provides strategic governance that helps an organisation embed co-production as a consistent approach – not a series of well-intentioned initiatives. Its ambition is to ensure co-production runs throughout the whole system – strategic, operational and individual – so that lived experience doesn’t sit at the edges, but shapes priorities and culture change at the centre.
Importantly, a board isn’t there to “do all the co-production”. Instead, it acts as the strategic anchor: representative, values-led and focused on sustaining momentum over time. In practice, that means supporting the infrastructure that makes meaningful co-production possible – creating the conditions, capability and confidence for teams to work in genuine partnership with citizens, communities and partners.
What does that look like in practice?
From our discussion, the ambitions of a strong Making It Real Board came through clearly:
- Building the right conditions for co-production to happen consistently (not sporadically), including practical support, clear routes into decision-making, and shared expectations.
- Supporting wider engagement, so the right people and communities are involved wherever decisions affect them – particularly those most impacted, who are too often least heard.
- Acting as a critical friend: encouraging and enabling, while also constructively challenging the system to stay on track – asking, Where is co-production happening? Where is it not? What needs to change?
- Driving strategic enablers that embed co-production day-to-day: shaping training, supporting reverse mentoring, strengthening networks and governance routes, and helping co-production become a routine part of decision-making.
This is how co-production becomes shared, supported and sustained – rather than relying on individual passion or short-term programmes.
A whole-system commitment
Another encouraging aspect of the session was the range of people in the room. Representatives came from different parts of the local system, showing a real commitment to co-production that goes beyond any single team or organisation.
That kind of whole-system involvement is vital if we’re serious about making lasting change – because co-production can’t be “owned” by one department. It needs to be a shared commitment that influences how decisions are made across a place.
As the community of practice begins to grow, some key themes are already emerging – particularly around the different ambitions and interpretations of what good co-production looks like across areas. These conversations are rich, challenging and necessary, and they underline why a shared learning space like this matters.
Join the conversation
The core aim of this community of practice is simple but ambitious:
to support local areas to make real change at a local level, through a strong peer network that brings together diverse expertise, experience and perspectives.
This is about building something together – not just sharing good practice, but turning shared knowledge into real-world impact. It’s also about telling the story of Making It Real in a way that brings it alive: showing how it helps people make sense of their work, join it up, and deliver culture change that people can feel.
I’d love to hear from more people who have been working with Making It Real. Whether you want to share your experiences, learn from others, or contribute your expertise – please get in touch.
Together, we can ensure co-production and Making It Real truly live up to their name: real change, shaped with people, not done to them.
