Coproduction in care: Principles, practices and tools

What is coproduction in social care? 

Coproduction is one of the most impactful ideas in modern social care. It means working with people who receive care and support, not simply delivering services to them. It is about being truly led by the individual’s needs and preferences, recognising their lived experience, and designing care in genuine partnership. 

Great coproduction leads to better outcomes, stronger relationships, and services that reflect the real needs and aspirations of the people they serve. But it is not a one-time event or a checkbox exercise. It is a mindset, a method and a movement. And it is gaining momentum across the sector. 

This e-book is going to be you and your team’s comprehensive guide to understanding coproduction best practices. It is packed with insight, templates, checklists, and even a real-world story from Log my Care customers Shaftesbury and Wilf Ward who are actively coproducing care with the individuals in their support every day.  

From compliance to connection 

For so long, care planning has heavily focused on meeting regulatory requirements. While this is important, this approach can leave little room for individual preferences or meaningful involvement. Coproduction helps shift the conversation from just “box-ticking” to what really matters to the person. 

Instead of inspectors or senior leadership deciding what good support looks like, coproduction invites people with lived experience to shape their own care. You could see this as a bit of a “bottom-up” approach to care planning, where the insights around what an individual’s care should look like, come from the individual. Taking this approach, you and your team are laying the foundation for better outcomes.  

Understanding where your organisation currently sits on the ladder of coproduction can help identify what needs to change to move towards coproduced care. The ladder is a practical tool that illustrates different levels of participation, from the individual being informed or consulted to fully collaborating or leading their care. We will explore this further in the next chapter: The social care ladder of coproduction.  

What coproduction is and what it is not 

Despite growing recognition of its value, coproduction is still often confused with other forms of involvement. It is important to be clear about what it means in practice. 

For care teams looking to embed this approach more meaningfully, our chapter on the principles of coproduction offers a useful starting point. These principles include equality, reciprocity, and valuing everyone’s contributions. They help guide not just what you do, but how you do it. 

Why coproduction matters more than ever 

Social care is facing a period of enormous pressure and change. Budgets are stretched. Needs are becoming more complex. Teams are balancing rising expectations with limited time. Coproduction is not just morally right. It is also one of the most strategic responses we have. 

When people are involved in shaping their support, services become more efficient, better tailored and more sustainable. This is why the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has made “involvement” a key focus of its new single assessment framework. As we explore in how coproduction aligns with the CQC, regulators are now looking closely at how services embed the voices of the people they support. 

Coproduction also plays a vital role in prevention. If we want to spot issues early, reduce avoidable incidents, or support independence, we need insight into what each person is experiencing. That kind of understanding only comes from collaboration. 

What coproduction looks like in practice 

Coproduction is not one-size-fits-all. It can happen at every level of care, from individual support plans to the design of services and strategies. The common thread is partnership. People are not only invited to participate, but supported to shape the outcome. 

Here are some examples: 

• Care planning: A person and their support worker co-create a plan focused on what matters most to them. If you are introducing this approach, the chapter on how to create and develop a co-produced care plan offers clear, practical steps. 

• Recruitment: People with lived experience help interview candidates and choose the staff who will work in their homes or services. 

• Stakeholder workshops: A provider holds workshops with residents, families and team members to redesign daily activities. 

• Service-user-led organisational planning: People who use services sit on governance panels and help set organisational priorities. 

Coproduction is also evolving, and in a later chapter, we will explore some of the emerging tactics in social care coproduction. Things like new practices like peer-led audits, lived experience leadership roles and digital co-design tools are changing how providers involve people at every stage. 

The role of technology in coproduction 

Digital tools are increasingly part of the social care landscape. When used thoughtfully, they can support better communication, faster collaboration and more inclusive care planning. 

For example, customers of Log my Care use the Carer App to let people check and update their own support plans. They also use shared dashboards to track goals, preferences or incident trends. Tools like Log my Care and other care management technology solutions support more proactive conversations and reduce the risk of things being missed. 

Our chapter on how technology supports coproduction in care looks at the role digital tools can play in bringing people into the heart of decision-making. It also shares ways to avoid common pitfalls, such as using tech as a replacement for real interaction.  

Building a culture of coproduction 

Coproduction works best when it is not seen as a separate initiative. Instead, it should be part of the culture. That means giving teams time, confidence and support to work in new ways. It also means building systems that make involvement easier, not harder. 

To help with this, we have created a set of free tools and templates, including: 

• A coproduction self-audit checklist to assess how well your service is embedding meaningful involvement 

• A user involvement spectrum template to map participation across different service areas 

• A lived experience leadership plan to support people into advisory or governance roles 

• A co-designed care planning canvas to guide collaborative care conversations 

These resources will be linked throughout the e-book and are available now in our resource hub. 

What comes next 

The chapters that follow take a closer look at the ideas introduced in this introduction. Each one focuses on a key area of coproduction, from practical models to regulatory alignment, emerging best practice to tech-enabled collaboration. 

Whether your service is just starting out or already working in partnership with the people you support, this e-book is designed to offer clear, actionable guidance. We hope it gives you the confidence, insight and tools to go further with coproduction — and to make it a meaningful part of your care culture. 

Read chapter two: The social care ladder of coproduction