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This course introduces the principles and practice of co-production, offering practical guidance on developing research or services alongside people with lived experience. Suitable for members of the public and professionals from a wide range of backgrounds, the course is delivered through three short modules using recorded talks, interviews, and curated online resources.

What is the length of the course?

This course offers approximately 5 hours of online teaching material. Participants are encouraged to allow a further 5 hours of independent study to get the most from the course.

The course is fully online and self-directed, allowing you to study at your own pace.

Why Study this course?

By the end of the course, participants will:

• Develop an in-depth understanding of co-production within health and social care research, with a particular focus on working with people living with dementia
• Explore a range of co-production approaches and methods used in dementia and ageing-related research
• Critically reflect on the challenges and opportunities of applying co-production within their own professional or clinical context
• Gain insight into the positive impacts of co-production for individuals, services, and research outcomes
• Feel better prepared to design and apply co-production principles within their professional or practice-based role

Who is this Course suitable for?

This course is suitable for a wide range of learners, including:

• People working in public or private organisations, in the UK or internationally (for English-speaking participants), particularly within health and social care.
• Health and social care professionals
• Professionals working with charities, including those supporting older adults, people living with dementia, unpaid carers, and family members.
• Researchers and academics, including PhD students, working in health, social, or medical sciences
• Members of the public with an interest in research or co-production
• Unpaid carers
• People living with dementia

Tutor

Professor Gill Windle

Gill Windle (BSc; MSc; PhD) is a Chartered Psychologist and Gerontologist who specialises in interdisciplinary research. She is the Director of and the Associate Director of the (CADR). Gill’s research aims to improve the health, wellbeing and resilience of older people, people with dementia and their supporters, and improve care and service provision.

Gill leads and contributes to mixed-methods studies and intervention trials, and has led and contributed to externally won research funding totalling £19,858,090.00, representing £10,464,912.00 from UK Research Councils (ERSC; MRC; AHRC),  £7,142,988.00 from Welsh Government research infrastructure awards and £ 2,102,190.00 from other sources including the Wellcome Trust. Her most research achievement is the award of £1,480,000.00 from the National Institute of Health Research to lead a randomised controlled trial of a digital health intervention to help dementia carers develop skills and take care of themselves.

Her work has informed Welsh policy development, and in 2001 as a post-graduate research assistant she co-authored six literature reviews with Professor Vanessa Burholt to inform the development of the first Strategy for Older People in Wales. She also led a review to inform the Healthy Ageing Action Plan (Welsh Assembly Government 2005). Following her PhD in 2006, she was seconded to the Older People’s Strategy Unit at the Welsh Assembly Government during the 2006/07 interim review period of the strategy, and was a member of the Strategy Advisory Group.

Between 2016 and 2018 she was a member of the Welsh Government dementia strategy task and finish group, and is currently a member of a Welsh Government group overseeing the implementation and impact of the dementia strategy. As part of this work, she is involved in two working groups (implementation of dementia care standards; learning and development), and the North Wales dementia strategy implementation steering group.

In recognition of her work she was awarded a personal chair by ¾«¶«´«Ã½ in 2018.

REF 2021

Gill's individual research outputs were submitted into the UoA3 REF assessment which contributed to the submission being ranked 15^th overall in the UK. 95% of this submission was classified as world leading or internationally excellent. Her interdisciplinary research led to the submission of a REF 2021 impact case study ‘Innovations in Dementia Care’ /ref-2021#3

Current research projects include the following topics: 

• Leading the development of a conceptual framework of resilience for people living with dementia
• Leading the development of the first outcome measure of resilience for people living with dementia
• Leading a programme of work including an RCT examining a technology developed by the World Health Organisation 'iSupport for dementia carers'