How to define Co-production?

Thank you to Talking Mats Lead Training Associate, Melita Loaring, for her thoughts around inclusion, co-production and Talking Mats.

What Is Co-production? 

Defining co-production isn’t straightforward — even those working closely in the field often find it difficult to agree on a single, fixed definition. 

Part of the challenge comes from the range of related terms that are often used interchangeably: 

• Co-creation 

• Co-design 

• Co-research 

Each of these has its own specific meaning, yet all overlap with the concept of co-production. And this can create confusion and dilute the true essence of co-production. 

To help navigate this complexity, the Scottish Co-production Network developed this word cloud showing commonly associated concepts — a useful starting point for understanding how co-production is applied in practice.

   Word cloud inspired by: 

• New Economics Foundation’s Co-production Self-Assessment Framework 

• Scottish National Standards for Community Engagement 

• Scottish Government Participation Framework 

• PB Charter for Scotland 

“By using a co-productive approach, professionals and decisions makers work with people and communities, not just to influence how decisions are made, but to have a say in what’s needed, how it’s developed and how it can be delivered. Co-production goes beyond participation and partnership working because it requires people to act together on an equal basis. It means we can all contribute our lived experience, skills and ideas about what works, to make our communities even better.” (Scottish Co-production Network)

Striking the right balance

Striking the right balance when defining co-production is critical according to the Scottish Co-production Network. On one hand, it is important to recognise co-production as a distinct and intentional approach — to avoid mislabelling conventional community engagement or consultation as co-production in a superficial or tokenistic way. 

At the same time, any definition must remain broad and inclusive enough to acknowledge and support efforts that are moving toward co-production — even if they do not yet fully meet all its principles

Talking Mats Projects

At Talking Mats, we are committed to working towards a co-productive approach. We have been proud to collaborate on several recent projects where co-design and lived experience have played a central role:

RCSLT Research Priority Setting Partnership – Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) 

This project by the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT) in partnership with the DLD community, aimed to pinpoint the top 10 research priorities for DLD. By gathering insights from individuals with DLD, their families and professionals across health, education and youth justice sectors, the project ensured a broad range of perspectives. To make the process more accessible, a custom-designed Talking Mat was created, allowing both children and adults with DLD to visually express their most and least important research priorities. 

You can read the phase 2 report of this project here

Final thoughts

Co-production is not always easy to define, and it’s not a one-size-fits-all approach. But when done well, it can lead to more inclusive, effective, and meaningful outcomes — especially when people with lived experience are treated as equal partners in the process. 

At Talking Mats, we’re proud to be contributing to this way of working — and we look forward to continuing our co-productive journey.

If you would like to know more about any of the projects mentioned in this blog or would like to speak to us about a Bespoke Resource, please contact [email protected]