Year 2 of our Not Another Co-Production Project has begun in the West Midlands. This is a three-year lottery funded project run by the Ideas Alliance in partnership with People’s Voice Media. The organisations we are partnering with to embed collaboration and co-production into their work, had an introductory meeting at the West Midlands launch event on 5th October. It was attended by over 30 representatives from community groups, local councils and charities.

Sophie Ewan-Roberts, User Experience and Strategy Co-ordinator for the Digital Services Team at Shropshire Council took visual notes (see image above). They are a brilliant summary of the day.

Sophie says:

“The opening event was a struggle get to with the train strike, but we made it and were really glad we did. From the moment we arrived and started chatting to other attendees outside everyone was warm, friendly and open. The generous way everyone was willing to participate, share their experiences and their work was really inspiring.

It was great to be able to talk to people from all sorts of organisations, some similar to mine and some entirely different. The diversity of voices and opinions really gave the event a sense of energy. I felt a lot of potential in the room.

Throughout the day, I did what I always do – doodle! It’s something that helps me concentrate. After the event I found I had several pages (which a few people did comment on during the day) so I transferred some of my favourites to a bigger sheet, with colour, to share with my colleagues who also attended. I felt the image needed to be colourful to properly represent the day – all the personalities, ideas, and hair!”

Here’s another Not Another Co-Production Project inspired article on visual recording of events. We’ll be sharing more details of the project in the West Midlands as the year unfolds.