Lessons from West Wales Regional Partnership Citizen and Third Sector Engagement Board.
A blog based on an interview between Mandy Williams, West Wales consultant for Project Dewi and Nikeela Uprichard, Project Manager for West Wales Regional Partnership.
In the world of involvement and co-production, accessibility isn’t just a nice-to-have, it’s essential. Whoever you’re working with, creating spaces where people feel welcomed, heard, and empowered is the foundation of meaningful participation. The Regional Partnership (RP) in West Wales offers a compelling example of how thoughtful design and inclusive practices can transform effective involvement.
Nikeela Uprichard, who leads citizen and third sector engagement for the RP, has helped shape a model that prioritises accessibility from recruitment to meeting format to materials. Her approach offers valuable insights for engagement professionals looking to deepen participation and remove barriers.
Starting with purposeful recruitment
When Nikeela first joined the RP, one of her tasks was to recruit citizen representatives for the dementia group. The challenge wasn’t a lack of interest—over 30 people responded to the initial call—but rather ensuring the right fit. Many applicants came from third sector organisations or had a general interest in health and social care, but didn’t have lived experience as carers or people living with dementia.
Recognising the need to harness this enthusiasm, Nikeela and the RP Team launched a broader Citizen and Third Sector Engagement Board. This space allowed people to engage with RP projects even if they weren’t suited for formal board roles. It became a gateway for involvement, with participants contributing to initiatives like the Carer Strategy and capital planning.
Designing Accessible Meeting Formats
One of the most striking aspects of the RP’s engagement model is its flexible, hybrid meeting structure. Initially held monthly, meetings transitioned to a bimonthly schedule after a six-month induction period. This gave participants time to understand the RP’s processes, build confidence, and see how their input influenced decisions.
Hybrid meetings were key to accessibility, especially in geographically dispersed areas like Ceredigion. But Nikeela quickly learned that not all “hybrid” venues are created equal. Some rooms lacked the technical infrastructure to support inclusive participation. The team tested venues in advance, eventually settling on the Living Well Centre’s Parc Dewi Sant in Carmarthen and the VC Gallery (Veterans and the Community) in Haverfordwest.
This attention to detail ensured that both in-person and online attendees could contribute equally – a critical factor in maintaining engagement.
Meeting People Where They Are
The RP’s expansion into Pembrokeshire brought another layer of innovation. Partnering with the VC Gallery, they introduced a new format: a one-hour formal meeting followed by informal discussions. This approach acknowledged that not everyone wants to sit through structured sessions. Some participants prefer brief conversations or drop-in engagement.
By creating multiple entry points, the RP made space for professionals, service users, and community members to engage on their own terms. This flexibility is a powerful tool for inclusion, especially in settings with high foot fall or diverse needs
Simplifying Materials for Broader Reach
Accessibility isn’t just about physical spaces—it’s also about information. The RP has long produced easy-read versions of its public documents, and aimed to create documents which are easier to understand.
However, some strategies and technical documents are necessarily aimed at staff overseeing services, making it challenging to keep them short documents. Our goal became clear: we needed to find a way to make the core information more accessible to all staff and members of the public.
The answer led to the creation of the “Plan on a Page”—a one-page summary that distils key priorities and next steps into a visually engaging format. Designed in Canva, these summaries are easy to share via newsletters, social media, and meeting slides. They complement longer documents without replacing them, offering a quick overview for those who want to understand the essentials.
The impact has been significant. The RP board embraced the format, requesting similar summaries for future strategies. And because the process is relatively quick—often completed in under an hour—it’s a sustainable addition to the engagement toolkit.
Embedding National Principles
Nikeela’s work aligns closely with the National Principles for Public Engagement in Wales. From clarity of purpose to inclusivity and feedback, the Citizen and Third Sector Engagement Board’s practices reflect a deep commitment to co-production and transparency. The use of easy-read materials, hybrid meetings, and varied engagement formats ensures that people from all backgrounds can participate meaningfully.
Lessons for Engagement Professionals
For those working in engagement, this approach offers several takeaways:
- Recruit with intention: Match roles to lived experience, but create alternative spaces for broader involvement.
- Test your tech and venues: Don’t assume hybrid facilities or a particular location is fit for purpose—check them yourself.
- Offer flexible formats: Combine formal and informal engagement to meet diverse needs.
- Simplify your materials: Use visual summaries to make complex strategies more digestible.
- Build relationships: Word-of-mouth and partner networks are powerful recruitment tools.
Ultimately, accessibility is about more than compliance—it’s about respect. It’s about recognising that everyone has something to contribute and making it as easy as possible for them to do so.
In her role, Nikeela and her colleagues have shown that with creativity, collaboration, and care, we can make public involvement truly accessible.