One of the most exciting developments over the past decade or so has been the widespread adoption of ‘co-production’ approaches. In the council context, it represents a meaningful shift in the way that local authorities work with their communities – a valuing of the local knowledge, expertise, and assets that people bring into decisions about how plans and specific services are designed, and a shifting of at least some power held within a central authority into the communities they serve.

Unfortunately, co-production is also often known as just a buzzword, falling short of its ideals. The perceived risks in letting go of decision-making control, as well as a lack of time, resources, or understanding of how to do co-production well, not having senior leaders on board, or meaningful decisions already having been made behind closed doors can all get in the way of authentic co-production. To help address this problem, Local Area Coordination is designed as a vehicle to bring a council’s co-production strategy to life.

But how does this really work in practice? Local Area Coordination has a number of key design features which create meaningful opportunities for councils to work in partnership with local people, through things like ‘community conversations’ and a ‘cross-sector leadership group‘. On top of this, Local Area Coordinators themselves are co-appointed by members of the community they will serve, through a ‘community recruitment process’. Since we were lucky enough to recently attend community recruitment events for Westminster City Council and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, we thought we’d share a little more insight into what this looks like in practice.

Community at the centre of community recruitment

Involving community members in recruitment isn’t a new idea, especially in councils and the voluntary sector. You’ve probably seen interview panels with local citizens before in community panels, or ‘resident reps’ in formal interviews. However, it can be difficult for the voice of community members to really come through in those spaces; hard or soft power of professionals can unintentionally influence the final decision. Plus, when hiring for roles that involve working directly with the community, traditional interviews don’t always reveal how candidates will connect with people, handle challenges, or build trust in real-life situations.

That’s where the community recruitment process in Local Area Coordination steps in. It’s all about creating a recruitment event that allows candidates to engage with real community members in community spaces, offering the chance to see how candidates react to the unexpected, communicate with the community members they will serve, and build new relationships.

Take the recent community recruitment in Kensington and Chelsea, for example. We worked with Rachel (the bi-borough Local Area Coordination Programme Manager) to set up a community recruitment day that felt less like an interview and more like a community gathering. Attended by members of the community which the new Local Area Coordinator will be based in, it kicked off with food and drinks, lots of conversation, and lots of laughs (my cheeks are still hurting from all the smiling), giving everyone a chance to relax and get to know each other. Rachel shared the purpose of the role, highlighting how Local Area Coordinators help people to build and achieve their vision of a good life. The group then discussed important topics like equal opportunities and confidentiality. Local community recruiters shared the qualities they thought a Local Area Coordinator should have: kindness, empathy, resilience, cultural awareness, and the ability to build trust quickly. They even shared insights about the local area, its history, and what candidates would need to be aware of coming into the role.

When the candidates arrived, they mingled with community members over refreshments. This casual setting was key; it showed how the candidates could build relationships in the natural community spaces they’ll be spending time in. Were they curious about people, the wider community and its challenges, or did they focus more on themselves? How did their body language and demeanour come across? How did candidates interact with non-English speakers? After this, each candidate had ten minutes to chat with individual community recruiters, answering whatever questions the recruiters had, and giving the community recruiters the opportunity to see whether candidates demonstrated the qualities they saw as essential.

We thanked and waved goodbye to candidates and came together as a group to discuss the morning’s conversations. Community recruiters shared incredible insights about whether candidates seemed warm and friendly, knowledgeable, and passionate about their community, or showed willingness to learn, curiosity, and tact. They reflected on which candidate they would feel most comfortable introducing to a friend or neighbour who might want some support to build their vision of a good life. Each candidate was scored based on the consensus reached by the community recruiters, which would then be combined with the score from a subsequent formal interview with council officers, giving the views of community members real decision-making power in the overall recruitment process.

Huge well done to Rachel and colleagues for putting on such a fantastic day, and to the wonderful community members who contributed their time and insights throughout the day.

by Tom Richards