#Cocreation

Why we need more collaboration in research

‘Great debrief, thanks so much. We’ll be in touch if we need any more research in the future.’ These are typical parting comments exchanged between client and agency at the end of a well-presented research debrief. They represent the Status Quo relationship between client and agency, and the ‘subjects’ being researched. The client briefs the researcher, the researcher talks to the research subjects, then the agency presents back the findings in a one or two hour debrief or wo

NHS bowel scope uptake boosted by a fifth through intervention developed by Partners

Bowel scope screening increased by more than a fifth (21.5%) when people were sent additional reminders developed by Partners in Creation and University College London (UCL) addressing people's common concerns around screening and bowel cancer. Partners in Creation qualitative research and co-design techniques identified how best to address people's barriers to cancer screening. Specifically, theory-based materials (designed according to principles put forth by the Behavior C

Putting the heart back into decision making

Traditionally in business, it is believed the head should rule the heart. Decisions based on a cold assessment of the ‘data’ are often regarded as the best. But when a decision impacts on the wellbeing of others, could a bit more heart be a good thing? At Partners in Creation, we believe that empathy between service providers and service users leads to better decisions, for three reasons: Firstly, empathy is the foundation of human relationships and mutual understanding. In

To keep pace of change, organisations need to trust those they serve

Organisations increasingly face fast changing consumer expectations, driven by technological change. One moment teenagers are emailing and texting, the next they have moved to Snapchat and Instagram. While in health patients are showing signs that their relationship with GPs are changing, as they lose respect for GPs seemingly ‘Googling’ during an appointment[1]. And demonstrating that they are willing to trade off GP care in return for getting their condition dealt with fast

Paying attention to the basics of recruitment can improve your research results

When you’re investing money, time and effort to run qualitative research, it’s a mistake not to pay attention to recruiting and involving the right mix of people into the research. After all, the participants are the source of all information and response to your questions. It’s not worth leaving it to chance. Research and co-creation is always about ‘people’ so there’s always an element of chance of who will walk through the door for a workshop or an interview, but there are

When words fail you … turn to art

They say a picture paints a thousand words, so if members of your research group aren’t talking, maybe try art instead. When research needs to delve into sensitive or potentially embarrassing territory you might find people are reluctant to really open up about the matter in hand. Whether knowingly, or subconsciously, research subjects may choose to hold back, as Partners in Creation’s John Isitt explained: “We find that people want to appear cooperative, but equally they don

"Nothing about us, without us, is for us"

Collaboration with staff and the people that organisations serve leads to better products, services and culture change. Co-creation; Co-prod

Co-creating lower back pain 'super gods'

Lower back pain is both debilitating and widespread. It is estimated that 2.5million people seek help from their GP every year and to cost the NHS £5bn a year. The Health Innovation Network (HIN) has set out a 12-month programme to improve people’s lower back outcomes. Sam Hudson and Fay Sibley explain why they asked Partners in Creation to run an Action Based Co-creation (ABC) workshop to ground their programme in the lived experience and needs of people with lower back pai

Water industry looks to its customers

Helping the water industry to give their customers an increased role in decision-making, Partners in Creation ran a workshop on co-creation at the recent ‘Customer Engagement’ workshop in London on 10 November. The water industry has traditionally relied heavily on stated preference research to understand the needs of their customers. With the next price review planned in 2019, the industry as a whole is looking at different ways to engage with customers. As well as new ways