Carers Co-Production Initiative
October 31, 2025Posted by:
In a bold move to reshape the future of unpaid carer support, PeoplePlus has been chosen by Gloucestershire Council to lead a co-production initiative to redefine how services are designed and delivered.
This initiative places carers, those with the deepest lived experience, at the centre of decision making. Together, we are tackling entrenched barriers in the caring journey and co-creating solutions that are practical, scalable, and rooted in reality.
Gloucestershire County Council recognises the need to strengthen co-production in Adult Social Care. Feedback from local engagement and our CQC inspection highlighted people sometimes feel excluded from shaping the services they rely on.
Emily White (Director of Quality, Performance and Strategy, Adult Social Care) Gloucestershire County Council says: "Embedding co-production into our unpaid carers projects is not just about better engagement, it is about transforming how we design services to reflect what truly matters to unpaid carers and the people they care for. By working with an independent partner, we are testing how we can build a model of co-production without bias, which is credible, inclusive, and scalable all while transforming the support for unpaid carers and pursuing our strategic priorities to deliver future fit care, enhance digital access, and ensure prevention and personalisation are at the heart of adult social care.”
What Co-Production Really Means
Co-production brings professionals and people with lived experience together as equal partners, shaping services from the ground up. In this initiative, carers are leading the conversation, driving innovation, and ensuring every solution reflects their real world challenges and priorities. The initiative looks to explore solutions to deliver tangible change, building a lasting infrastructure for co-production across the carer community in Gloucestershire and embedding lived experience into the DNA of future service design and policy.
Three Workstreams - One Vision
PeoplePlus is focusing on three dynamic co-production workstreams:
- Revolutionising Information, Advice and Guidance
Carers are identifying barriers and co-evaluating current digital and offline support offers. - Developing Digital Capability
Together, we are supporting the co-design of streamlined online forms to better capture carer needs and simplify referrals. - Improving Hospital Experiences
Carers are mapping their journeys to co-create practical tools, checklists, liaison processes, and information packs, that will lead to improve hospital interactions.
Each workstream is driven by carers, supported by a dedicated co-production panel, and creatively facilitated by Fora Design, whose multiple methods or engagement and participatory methods, from storyboarding to rapid prototyping, ensure every voice is heard and every idea explored.
Get Involved - Be Part of the Change
Carers across Gloucestershire are invited to join upcoming in-person and online sessions via the Gloucestershire Carers Hub (managed by PeoplePlus)
To take part:
- Visit: Gloucestershire Carers Hub
- Email: [email protected]
- Call: 0300 111 9000
The learning and impact from this initiative will help inform future service delivery within Gloucestershire Carers Services.
At PeoplePlus we will be continuing to take our approach on co-production and involving people with lived experience across the UK, setting a new standard for how services are designed, importantly with, the people who use them.
If you want to know more about co-production at PeoplePlus contact our Head of Wellbeing and Community Partnerships [email protected]
October 31, 2025Posted by:
