How will we know our strategy is successful?
Measuring the value of co-production in mental health, learning disability and neurodiversity services requires a combination of quantitative and qualitative approaches that capture improvements in service quality, personal outcomes and systemic changes.
We would like to propose the following evaluation framework:
Service outcomes and quality
Service satisfaction: Use surveys, interviews and focus groups with people who use our services and carers.
Empowerment and inclusion
Co-design and decision-making: Measure which governance boards and committees include the lived experience voice and how often people who use our services, and carers, are involved in shaping policies, training staff, or designing services. Use our involvement database to determine if the number of requests for expert by experience involvement increases.
Self-advocacy and confidence: Use self-reported measures to assess whether individuals feel more empowered in their care - patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) and patient-reported experience measures (PREMs).
Access to services: Track whether co-production leads to more inclusive and culturally competent services.
Social and community impact
Peer support engagement: Monitor participation in peer-led groups and networks
Stigma reduction: Assess workplace inclusion improvements
Carer and family wellbeing: Measure the impact on support networks through surveys, focus groups and data collected by our partner organisations such as Devon Carers and Torbay Carers.
Organisational and systemic change
Staff attitudes and training: Evaluate whether professionals report increased understanding and value of lived experience through surveys and equality, diversity and inclusion training
Policy and service changes: Track how many new initiatives arise directly from co-production efforts
Sustainability: Measure if co-production is embedded in ongoing service delivery, for example, service user advisory boards.
We will monitor the implementation of the Together Strategy through:
- Together Senior Leadership Group
- Directorate Governance Boards
- Together annual report