Participation and co-production: Policy context

Article 12 of the convention guarantees that children have the right to have their opinions taken into account when adults are making decisions that affect them.

The UNCRC encourages adults to listen to the opinions of children and involve them in decision making, but recognises that the level of a child's participation in decisions must be appropriate to their level of maturity.

Definitions of participation

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child's 2009 general comment on the child's right to be heard considers the meaning of participation: "A widespread practice has emerged in recent years, which has been conceptualised broadly as ‘participation'. This term has evolved and is now used widely to describe ongoing processes, which include information sharing and dialogue between children and adults based on mutual respect, and in which children can learn how their views and those of adults are taken into account and shape the outcome of such processes."

Despite this evolution of understanding, there is no one fixed definition of participation. The 2010 report Children's Participation in Decision-making by Participation Works, National Children's Bureau (NCB) and Children's Rights Alliance for England (Crae) defines participation as a process where children not only express their views, but where this also leads to change - whether that be in law and policy, professional practice and services, or the attitudes and behaviours of adults.

Roger Hart's 1992 ladder model of youth participation describes an eight-step process from "manipulation" of young people at the bottom rung of the ladder up to shared decision making at the top rung, with the level of participation increasing with every rung up the ladder (see research evidence).

Definition of co-production

As a result of moves to democratise and localise decision making in public services, a model of participation has emerged that sees young people working as equal partners to design and deliver provision. This co-production approach is defined by the New Economics Foundation (NEF) as "delivering public services in an equal and reciprocal relationship between professionals, people using services, their families and their neighbours. Where activities are co-produced in this way, both services and neighbourhoods become far more effective agents of change".

Co-production rests on the principle that people are no longer passive recipients of services, but active agents in their design and delivery, and to improving outcomes. Developing and embedding co-production across services takes time - it requires changing both the nuts and bolts of commissioning practice and transforming the culture.

NEF has been working with public sector organisations to embed co-production principles and approaches for more than a decade. It has established a co-production practitioners network where public sector professionals can share expertise and ideas. It has also worked with a number of local authorities to help them develop co-production in children's services departments (see practice example). Off the back of this, it has written a guide, with Action for Children, to co-producing children's services.

The guide aims to give children's services professionals action points to help put into practice the four key principles of co-production. These are:

Valuing children and young people as assets