As part of National Co-production week (5-9 July) we are very pleased and excited to launch ‘Stronger Together’, a national co-production toolkit which has been co-created with 14 Ageing Better partners across England, and led by our teams here at South Yorkshire Housing Association and Age Better in Sheffield.
Ageing Better aims to develop creative ways for people aged over 50 to be actively involved in their local communities, helping to combat social isolation and loneliness.
It is one of five major programmes set up by The National Lottery Community Fund to test and learn from new approaches to designing services which aim to make people’s lives healthier and happier.
The 14 Ageing Better partners have worked together over the last 15 months to co-create the toolkit, all about co-production, as part of Ageing Better’s legacy.
Co-production has been at the very heart of Ageing Better’s work. The voices of older people have been involved within every aspect of the programme right across England, from the setting up, dissemination, design, and delivery, through to the evaluation of services, projects & activities for people aged 50 and over.
This toolkit is a one stop, user friendly space where the collective experiences and learning from the last 6 years is shared. It is for anyone who has an interest in co-production, including local authorities, funders, people-focused organisations, community services and groups, and individuals looking to learn more.
The Toolkit includes links to hundreds of resources from the different partners.
If you’d like to read more about how to use the Toolkit before you get started, you can read our helpful guide.
Download the Toolkit
“The emphasis of our Toolkit is to demonstrate that co-production is a meeting of minds and hearts towards reaching a shared solution. We wanted to bring to life the work of the Ageing Better programme in a way that can be accessed by anyone wanting to work with people in their communities towards a common purpose, whether at a strategic, operational or grassroots level.
Our hope is that you are able to translate Ageing Better’s journey of working with older people to shape services and projects that help to reduce loneliness and isolation amongst the over 50s, within your specific role and areas of work.”
Vicky O’Donoghue – Toolkit Lead
Thank you to all the partners and the National Lottery Community Fund, who have contributed so significantly to this huge piece of work – we hope our shared experiences go on to influence many more co-produced services, projects and experiences for others.
