This page summarise some conversations that have been happening between VAS, Co:Create and Tom French during 2021. It is intended as a starting point for further discussion, development and ideas, so we're keen to hear what you think.
You can get in touch at the bottom of the page.
<aside> 💡 What could people-led data, insight and evidence collection look like in Sheffield?
</aside>
<aside> ⚙️ How could this be focused on building problem-solving capacity for everyone across the city?
</aside>
<aside> ✅ How could it be organised so that it's open, transparent and trusted?
</aside>
<aside> 🔁 What would this mean for how people, services and organisations interact with and inform each other?
</aside>
Covid has brought into sharp relief that communities and the voluntary sector have a key function in responding to crises alongside statutory and public sector organisations - this is not new to many, but has been more widely accepted on the back of the pandemic.
Furthermore, the value of the insight and intelligence held by these communities and voluntary organisations in shaping and adapting responses to be the best they can be has been recognised by many in Sheffield (and beyond).
Sheffield is also undergoing a shift in the way its democracy works at a local level, with Local Area Committees being formed to make decisions and policy.
With all of this in mind, it makes sense now to think about how recent lessons learned can be embedded locally in Sheffield to build on this momentum, with the myriad different sources of lived experience, data, intelligence and evidence brought together better in a way that makes future decision-making more people-focused, holistic, inclusive and democratic at the local level.
As well as giving a depth of understanding that can’t be gained solely from system intelligence sources, having a centralised point to access this type of intelligence supports efficiency of services, greater impact of the City’s collective assets and improves the quality of experience for people who are receiving support.
Crucially, this central point could also provide a feedback loop to those providing their own data, experiences or insight - i.e. an opportunity for people who have used the 'intelligence' to say how they used it and what it meant they could do as a result.
Furthermore, this will help to facilitate a reduction in cycling around issues when we have learning that could break problems by drawing on different perspectives and understanding.
Following initial conversations between VAS, Co:Create and Tom French, we're now keen to widen the conversation to gather ideas, introduce a prototype to demonstrate the kind of thing we're thinking (but certainly not set on) and see whether there's an appetite to do more with this.
With this feedback we will explore funding opportunities to develop the ideas with residents and broker the necessary partnerships across the city.