The WISERD exhibition stand attracted much interest at the Co-production Network for Wales annual conference in Wrexham today. All in this Together: A Celebration of Co-production and Involvement in Wales provided key networking opportunities to connect our work with third and public sector organisations.
The aim of the day was to explore co-production of policy and services, and furtherance of what the event organisers described as “collectively striving towards a common vision: that of a fairer and more sustainable Wales where everyone has a voice”.
The conference was also an opportunity to showcase WISERD’s Civil Society research programme and share our latest findings. WISERD researchers took part in a discussion around co-production, social care provision, and the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act (2014). The latter has been the focus of a two-year WISERD research project led by WISERD Co-Director, Professor Paul Chaney.
Dr Christala Sophocleous highlighted the emerging opportunities that the new legislation had provided for co-production between the third and statutory sectors in delivering care. She revealed mixed progress – saying that some non-governmental organisations (NGOs) spoke of empowerment and increased influence in the design and delivery of services – while others highlighted the complexity of the new delivery structures and the challenges facing smaller NGOs in competing with larger rivals to secure local authority tenders.
Professor Paul Chaney, said: “Today’s event has been a good opportunity to highlight the diverse research being undertaken by WISERD and to build co-production links with diverse organisations”.