To celebrate the end of our 5-year programme – Project Dewi – we brought people together at the Pierhead Building in Cardiff Bay to share our learning, legacy and discuss what’s next for co-production in Wales.
Funded through the National Lottery Community Fund, we at the Co-production Network for Wales have been working with Public Services Boards (PSBs) for the last 5 years to support them to do more, and better, co-production and involvement. This event was a celebration of the work, relationships and learning generated through the project.
It was a great day, filled with energy, honesty, enthusiasm, and some challenging questions. Across panels, discussions and reflections, it was clear that there’s a real passion for co-production in Wales and some strong advocates that we can support and enable to embed meaningful community involvement across public services in Wales for the long-term.
We opened the day with a speech from Jenny Rathbone MS, setting the tone that meaningful involvement matters now more than ever: “We need radical ideas, we can’t just make changes at the edges”. She encouraged public services to move out of their comfort zones, collaborate, and ask what actually works for people and for services. Jenny Rathbone MS also looked ahead to the forthcoming results of the post-legislative review of the Well-being of Future Generations Act.
Our first session brought together a brilliant panel discussion, facilitated by one of our Project Dewi associate consultants – Rebecca Colley-Jones. Featuring Sandy Clubb, Office of the Future Generations Commissioner; Lloyd Harris, Welsh Government; Catryn Holzinger, Audit Wales; and Selma Abdalla, Cardiff Council. The panel reflected on the realities of involving people meaningfully in systems that aren’t always supportive of community involvement. Thanks to those who submitted their questions, it was great to have an honest conversation about the importance of trusted and supportive relationships; the need to understand power and barriers; the value of creative engagement methods; as well as the shared recognition that culture change takes time, consistency and courage to do something differently.
It was great to be able to present on some examples of hands-on work that we’ve been delivering over the last 5 years. From Carmarthenshire – presented by one of our associate consultants, Mandy Williams, we heard about their work on asset mapping. From Lisa Toghill, Senior Cwm Taf Morgannwg PSB Officer, we heard about the development of the Reverse Mentoring project – how their young person’s work has enabled the PSB to lead with a project that came straight from what young people wanted. And across North Wales, Gareth Hall from the NW Cohesive Communities Team, shared how their shift from consultation to co-production is taking real shape and continues to grow and develop with the communities they support.
We were really proud to launch our new resources page, with toolkits and case studies from our Project Dewi work. It also includes a resource finder to help narrow down the right resources for you.
As we look ahead, the external evaluation of the project conducted by Practice Solutions offers clear recommendations for how we can build on the legacy of Project Dewi.
- Co-production should be funded as a core strategic function, not a short‑term project. PSBs should contribute financially to reinforce ownership, and Welsh Government should commit to multi‑year funding aligned with national well-being goals.
- Co-production must be structurally integrated across all tiers of governance: board, executive, and strategic planning. This includes updating frameworks, making it a standing agenda item, involving key decision-makers directly, and reporting annually on maturity and impact.
- Treat trust-building and relational depth as measurable outcomes, not just enablers. Align funding, evaluation, and governance with the relational competencies required for meaningful co-production.
- Be open about how you involve people. Explain when involvement is happening, how people can get involved, what you’ll do with their ideas, and how it will shape services. Use clear feedback loops and public updates to show what’s changed as a result.
“Co-production is the most powerful approach to get this off the ground.” Evaluation interviewee
You can read the full evaluation here.
The afternoon session was all about celebrating what’s working across Wales when it comes to co-production, understanding what helps great co-production happen more often in Wales, and gathering personal pledges of what everyone, as individuals, can do to support co-production in our own roles and communities. We’ll be sharing the results of the conversations in more detail over the coming months.
The passion and drive for co-production in Wales has never been stronger. Our challenge is to embed it, protect it, and continue to strive for the conditions where people can genuinely shape the decisions that affect their lives.
Thank you to everyone who joined us, shared your experiences, challenged us and each other, and helped us take a practical look ahead at co-production in Wales for the next generation.