Last month I felt a sense of déjà vu as I found myself back at Lambeth town hall, having left Lambeth council in 2010 in search of pastures new. Along with other guests, I had been invited to help Lambeth's leadership learn about co-production of services and how it could help them become the first co-operative council. While Lambeth is sincere in its ambition, the goal of shifting power from the state to citizens is a very challenging one.
Some scene setting: co-production, as chief executive Derrick Anderson described, simply means sharing the design and the delivery of public services with users. At Lambeth, the leadership is encouraging officers to see co-production as a way of working in its own right, and an opportunity to reconnect with the public service ethos.
At the workshop, officers were given a chance to understand what co-production might look and feel like in practice. In role play, each officer adopted a persona and found new ways to work together to protect a community centre threatened with closure. After the session, they had time to reflect on their experiences and put their questions to co-production experts.
The response was overwhelmingly positive; officers instinctively understood that real and meaningful input from service users could allow the council to harness the assets of local citizens to enchance and transform the services they deliver.
Yet key barriers stand in the way of co-production, both in Lambeth and across local government in the UK. Staff morale remains a problem. Finding the confidence and determination to work in new, innovative ways is tough enough when times are good – but the picture is even more complex today.
Communication must also be improved. In the role play session, it was telling how quickly officers fell into the trap of discussing the fine, technical detail of public-service delivery. If co-production is to produce truly radical solutions, officers must be able to hold an open and meaningful conversation with the community. They must be able to discuss what citizens want from life and how this can be achieved in general terms, rather than the technicalities of how existing services can be improved.
Leadership will be critical to overcoming these barriers. Leaders at Lambeth and in other authorities will need to keep signalling to officers that they are genuinely committed to co-production, even when faced with mounting pressure to deliver services on a budget. Likewise, officers must be prepared to make the case to their managers for genuinely co-produced services. Addressing these barriers will not be easy, but it is necessary if local government is to find imaginative responses to the new financial reality our communities face.
Francis Clarke works in public policy and social innovation. He has worked for Lambeth council and is an associate at the social design agency thinkpublic.
This content is brought to you by Guardian Professional. Join the local government network for more like this direct to your inbox
