ADASS East has published ‘Putting people at the heart of care and support: emerging approaches to co-production’. The October 2026 collection describes work with people who draw on support, unpaid carers, councils, providers, and communities across the East of England.
The accounts cover strategy, commissioning, recruitment, accessible communication, and everyday services. Each examines what people did, the reported effects, barriers, and conditions that helped.
In Milton Keynes, unpaid carers helped shape a new carers service specification and evaluate a tender question. Procurement training, payment for their contribution, accessible participation, and clear expectations supported their involvement. In Thurrock, people with lived experience helped develop communication resources and influence the programme’s priorities.
The collection also records unfinished work and practical difficulties. Participation takes time and resources; people need to see how their contribution affects decisions. Some reported results concern involvement or plans still being implemented, which need to be distinguished from changes already experienced in people’s lives.
For commissioners and service leaders, it offers specific approaches to examine and adapt, including the support people need to take part and the authority they have to influence what happens.