Community Capacity and Coproduction Resources

In this section, you will find information, in the form of PDFs and weblinks, about:

  • An assets-based approach to health
  • Community capacity building
  • Coproduction

There is also a section on the evidence of health and wellbeing outcomes achieved through the provision of services that use the above approaches. This evidence section includes evidence that covers both direct outcomes for people and evidence of the outcomes for other services, for example, the reduced use of hospital provision.

Across Scotland, the implementation of the Reshaping Care for Older People Change Plans will see the development of a range of services that put the above approaches into practice. Once these services are in place we will feature some of them as case studies here. Where appropriate, we will also feature case studies from other initiatives that demonstrate the utility of applying such approaches to some of our significant health and well-being challenges.

But first, the document below contains a transcript of a story from a woman called Jane Cotton. Jane is a healthy, hard working, well-connected capable woman who lives in Moray in the north of Scotland. Reading about what happened to her when she became snowed in is a fascinating reminder of why community- and people-based approaches are so essential to the future care of all of our older people. In short, we're all going to get older. This is about you as much as it is about everyone else.

Jane Cotton's Story [20Kb]

Assets-based Approach to Health

Asset-based approaches for health improvement: redressing the balance, Glasgow Centre for Population Health (GCPH), October 2011

The aim of this GCPH Concepts Series briefing paper is to present the current evidence and thinking on asset based approaches for health improvement, the background and rationale for these approaches, and the practical challenges of adopting these approaches in reality.

Asset Based Approaches Briefing [500Kb]

A Glass Half-Full: How an Assets-based Approach Can Improve Health and Wellbeing, IDEA 2010

A report from the English Local Government equivalent of the Improvement Service.

Communities and Community Assets in Self-Management, SCDC 2011

A report highlighting the efficacy of assets-based approaches in the management of long-term conditions.

Communities and Community Assets in Self-Mgmt [694Kb]

Appreciating Assets, Carnegie and IACD 2011

A report highlighting the success of various types of assets-based approaches across the world.

Appreciating Assets [2Mb]

Asset-Based Approaches to Health Improvement, NHS Health Scotland, October 2011

A report from NHS Health Scotland explaining what is meant by asset-based approaches and summarising what is known about its potential for improving health.

Asset-Based Approaches to Health Improvement [171Kb]

Community Capacity Building

Building Community Capacity: Guidance for Staff Working with Communities, ODS and Scottish Government 2009

In other words, how to do it!

Community Learning and Development

Information about what CLD means - and it includes Community Capacity Building - from Learning and Teaching Scotland.

Community Learning and Development Managers Scotland

The network of CLD specialists including a list of the CLD lead in each Scottish Local Authority. If you need help understanding how to build community capacity CLDMS is a good resource.

Scottish Community Development Centre

Experts in community capacity building and community engagement. If you need help understanding how to build community capacity SCDC should be your starting point, particularly here. Information on evaluating such activity can be found here.

Reshaping Care Improvement Network, CCB Workshop April 2011

An SCDC presentation on community capacity building made at the inaugural JIT Reshaping Care for Older People Improvement Network even on 1 April 2011, plus the accompanying case study from a project in Mearns, Aberdeenshire.

SCDC Community Capacity Roundtable Session [244Kb]
Mearns Case Study [213Kb]

A Snapshot of Community Capacity Building in Scotland, LTS 2011

Information on activity taking place in Scotland under the banner of community capacity building.

Snapshot of Comm Cap Building in Scotland [524Kb]

How Can Local Authorities with Less Money Support Better Outcomes for Older People? JRF 2011

By building community capacity!

Better Outcomes with Less Money [209Kb]

Building Community Capacity to Put People First

Department of Health (England) initiative to work alongside local government partners with the aim of exploring the role of social capital and co-production in the transformation of adult social care and its contribution to health, wellbeing, independence and quality of life for all (includes the paper 'Practical approaches to improving the lives of disabled and older people through building stronger communities, DoH, 2010').

O4O

O4O was an EU Northern Periphery Programme project funded uder the 2007-2013 programme. In O4O, workers from partner regions across the North of Europe worked with communities to assist them in their attempts to meet the service and support needs of their older citizens (includes a toolkit for setting up O4O type projects).

Connecting Communities C2 Learning Programme

Connecting Communities (C2) is a community development learning programme designed to equip participants with the skills and capabilities for effective community engagement and collaborative working.

The work of C2 has informed the approach taken by the Strathclyde Police Violence Reduction Unit.

Includes a note of the 'Seven Steps to Transformational Change' and information about the groundbreaking Beacon Project.

See also the report 'Introducing the H.E.L.P. Approach to Neighbourhood Change', Centre for Welfare Reform and Birmingham University, March 2011.

Introducing H.E.L.P. to Neighbourhood Change [114Kb]

Scottish Government Community Engagement and Empowerment

Many of the approaches applicable to this Reshaping Care for Older People work stream have been utilised as part of Scottish Government work on Regeneration.

Local Leadership and Community Budgets

Building on the work undertaken under the banner of 'Total Place', this site outlines English efforts to more effectively use resources to support communities to address their own needs.

Skye Community Toolkit

Skye and Lochalsh Council for Voluntary Organisations has developed a toolkit to assist communities to build their own capacity.

Coproduction

A Manifesto for Co-production [647Kb]
The Challenge of Co-production [340Kb]
Putting Co-production Into Practice [382Kb]
Taking Co-production Into the Mainstream [355Kb]

The above documents provide the best in-depth exposition of the concept of coproduction. The NESTA and NEF websites are also useful resources. NESTA has a coproduction micro-site.

Practical approaches to co-production: Building effective partnerships with people using services, carers, families and citizens, Department of Health, 2010

This guide deals with what co-production means and highlights different approaches to it alongside examples of its successful use.

Practical approaches to co-production [277Kb]

Coproduction: A Series of Commissioned Reports, Local Authorities & Research Council's Initiative, LARCI 2010

A series of papers to develop and promote thinking on the theme of Coproduction of services, with users, citizens, communities and other stakeholders.

Co-production Summary [502Kb]

Coproduction in Context An Overview of Theory & Practice

A Presentation by NHS Tayside.

Overview of Co-production Theory and Practice [163Kb]

Coproduction in Community-led Health

A report and presentation by the Perth and Kinross Healthy Communities Collaborative on their work to coproduce older people's services.

Healthy Communities Collaborative: First Six Years [3Mb]
Co-production in Community-led Health [8Mb]

Principles and Standards of Citizen Leadership

Citizen Leadership is a way for Social Work Services to work together with people to shape those services. It does not use the word 'coproduction' as such but it is clear that, if it is undertaken properly, it represents a co-productive approach. More information is available here.

Talking Points

In beginning with the outcomes the service user wishes to achieve for him or her self the Talking Points outcomes approach contains significant co-productive elements.

Coproduction in Scotland

Information about the Scottish Coproducers Network can be found here and here.

Evidence of Health and Wellbeing Outcomes Achieved Using Community Capacity Building and Co-production

Survey of Referrers 2010: Summary Report of Findings, Volunteer Centre Edinburgh 2011

The findings provide a useful Scottish addition to the body of international work that demonstrates that the act of volunteering itself has a positive impact on health as judged by the professionals (including health and social care professionals) whom referred clients to the Volunteer Centre Edinburgh for volunteering placements (see pages 6 - 10).

Summary Report [2Mb]

The Role of the Voluntary Sector in Delayed Transfer of Care (DToC)/Hospital Discharge and Prevention of Readmission, Bangor University 2010

Research from Wales which importantly found that "both of these projects are successful in preventing delayed transfers of care".

Role of Voluntary Sector in Hospital Discharge [508Kb]

National Evaluation of Partnerships for Older Projects (POPPs), Personal Social Services Research Unit, PSSRU (for the Department of Health) January 2010

This report clearly demonstrates the cost-effectiveness of preventative services and, importantly, it contains comparative data that suggests that those who are supported by preventative services achieve demonstrably better outcomes than those who are not. Key findings include:

  • "The reduction in hospital emergency bed days resulted in considerable savings, to the extent that for every extra £1 spent on the POPP services there has been approximately a £1.20 additional benefit in savings on emergency bed days."
  • "Overnight hospital stays were seemingly reduced by 47% and use of Accident & Emergency departments by 29%. Reductions were also seen in physiotherapy/occupational therapy and clinic or outpatient appointments with a total cost reduction of £2,166 per person."

Natl Eval of Pships for Older People Projects [8Mb]

Towards a business case for LinkAge Plus, Warwick Business School for DWP 2009

This report also supports the economic arguments for preventative services for older people. Key findings include:

"Unit costs of a range of LinkAge Plus schemes presented below range from £4.45 to £286 per contact, and these are highly cost effective investments if they can be expected to yield a return of £462 a year."

See also, Benefits for older people, DWP 2009 and Capacity Building: Enabling and Empowering Older People as Independent and Active Citizens, DWP 2009.

Building Community Capacity: Making an Economic Case, Personal Social Services Research Unit (PSSRU for Department of Health), December 2010

Research on the efficacy of time banks, befriending services and 'community navigators' in terms of the shift in resources and savings they can enable.

A key finding: "We calculated the costs of three particular community initiatives – time banks, befriending and community navigators for people with debt or benefits problems – and found that each generated net economic benefits in quite a short time period."

Economic Case for Community Capacity [119Kb]

Helping People Help Themselves: A review of the evidence considering whether it is worthwhile to support self-management, Health Foundation 2011

This research indicates the weight of evidence is clearly in favour of supporting assets-based approaches to health and that savings to other health systems can result from doing so.

Key findings includes:

  • "This reiew of more than 550 pieces of high quality research suggests that it is worthwhile to support self-management, in particular through focusing on behaviour change and supporting self-efficacy."
  • "Hundreds of systematic reviews, randomised controlled trials and large observational studies have examined hte impact of supporting self-management for people with long term conditions... the totality of evidence suggests that supporting self-management can have benefits for people's attitudes and behaviours, quality of life, clinical symptoms and use of healthcare resources."

Helping People Help Themselves [1Mb]

Self-Care Reduces Costs and Improves Health - The Evidence, Expert Patient Programme 2010

Clear evidence that asset-based approaches reduce individuals' use of acute services.

Key quotes:

  • "There is strong evidence to demonstrate the economic benefits that Expert Patient Programmes could have on the NHS."
  • "(The evidence) show(s) cost savings of around £1,800 per person per year."

Helping People Help Themselves [1Mb]

Family Nurse Partnership (FNP) Overview, Scottish Government 2011

FNP is a programme from the USA which has been identified by NESTA as a clear example of a 'co-produced service'. Whilst aimed at young mothers, the approach used has applicability for any age group. It has been successfully operated in England and is being piloted in Scotland through NHS Lothian and NHS Tayside. The American evidence of success is both longitudinal and very robust and is indisputably achieving positive outcomes for people and savings to other public services.

See also: "Public Services Inside Out: Putting co-production Into Practice", NESTA, NEF 2010 in the Co-production section.

  • Key quote: "Cost savings from FNP are substantial with savings of between $17,000 and $34,000 per child by the time they reach 15, $3-$5 for every $1 invested, for high risk groups."

Family Nurse Partnership Programme Overview [8Mb]

The Food Train - Evaluation of the Food Train in Terms of its Economic Value, Rock Solid Research 2010

"Its economic value in delaying the onset of higher-cost care packages is highly significant, and is in line with current Government policy on meeting the challenge of an ageing population which is living longer though unhealthier lives."

WRVS Social Impact Report, Public Aspect 2008

This report demonstrates the immediate impact that a third sector organisation's community-based intervention has on lives of the older people that use it, the Scottish example being drawn from Fife.

Key finding: 73% of users felt less isolated, 70% of users feel their life to be better as a result of WRVS services.

Working Together, Learning Together: Improving Outcomes for Older People, North Lanarkshire Council and NHS Lanarkshire 2008

This report includes the work of Locality Link Officers in its appraisal of the efficacy of reorganised day services and focuses on positive outcomes as expressed by service users.

  • "The majority of interviewees made positive comments on their health experiences."
  • See also here.

Social Capital, Human Capital and Health: What is the Evidence?, OECD, 2010

It has been widely asserted that an increase in social capital amongst a population leads to an increase in the health and well-being of that population. The process of using community capacity building and/or coproduction approaches very obviously builds social capital, whether or not there is a further intended and explicit health and well-being outcome or an outcome of some other kind (e.g. educational). In short, just working with people in a particular way can improve their health and well-being. This paper provides an overview of the evidence relating to the effect of social capital on health.

Social Capital Human Capital and Health [2Mb]

The other, earlier paper The Well-being of Nations: The Role of Human and Social Capital (OECD, 2001) provides further background.

The Well-being of Nations [1Mb]

Supporting Carers: The Case for Change, Princess Royal Trust for Carers, 2011

Proper support to carers falls within our concept of building community capacity and, if undertaken appropriately, can represent coproduction of a service. This report highlights the evidence (including evidence from randomised control trials) that support to carers both prevents and reduces the use of other services by the carer and the cared for person. In other words, not only does potential use remain unrealised, previous levels of use drop.

Supporting Carers [335Kb]

Why Involve the Third Sector in Health and Social Care Delivery?, Scottish Government, December 2011

This briefing paper is a collaborative piece of work by the Scottish Third Sector Research Forum. Drawing on available evidence we've demonstrated where and how the third sector is contributing to health and social care services delivery in Scotland. Tapping into the most robust evaluations we could find we've provided examples of the third sector's contribution towards the healthcare Quality Outcomes ambitions for Scotland. We've also looked to this selected evidence for key messages concerning the hurdles to overcome in reaching a better engagement.

Why Invlve the 3rd Sect in Hlth and Scl Care Deliv [1Mb]