CVT Connect: Co-producing a digital platform for people with learning disabilities, by Philip Gibson, Project Manager, Camphill Village Trust

1. CVT CONNECT
CO-PRODUCING A DIGITAL PLATFORM FOR PEOPLE WITH
LEARNING DISABILITIES
PHILIP GIBSON

2. CAMPHILL VILLAGE TRUST
National charity
supporting people in
community settings
Most people we support
are adults with LD
Committed to working co-
productively
Co-production is based
on the principle that those
who use a service are best
placed to help design it

3. 48 %
OF PEOPLE WE SUPPORT USE DIGITAL MEDIA

4. WHAT ARE PEOPLE DOING?
• Skype friends and family
• Email family
• Social media sites including Facebook,
Twitter and Instagram
• Apps for phones / tablets
• Information sites / search engines
• Games
• Banking and bill paying

5. • Complex
• Difficulty to sign in / log on
• Lack of / problems with hardware
• Fear of what happens with personal information
• Online bullying
• Scams
• Commitments they lacked capacity to fully understand
• Diminishing interest / no obvious benefit
WHY SOME PEOPLE HAVE TRIED AND STOPPED

6. WHAT PEOPLE WANT?
Connect digitally with their friends / people they know
Easy to log in and navigate around
Not so big as Facebook / Twitter
To gain skills and confidence safely
Co-produced by people with LD for people with LD

7. SOME KEY
FEATURES
• It is a closed network for PWS and staff
(supporting role). Enables people to share in a
non-global network.
• Local administration and moderation – helps
ensure safety as the administrators already know
and work with each person in their community.
• Picture password sign up option.
• Easy read help pages
• Only two or three choices / pathways presented
at every stage

8. CHALLENGES
Still too complex for people to sign up
(linked to emails / passwords) which
people forget regularly.
Needs staff to invest time and
enthusiasm (competing priorities) –
they need to see the benefit
Need a critical mass of users to make
it engaging and interesting

9. WHAT WOULD MAKE IT BETTER?
It needs to be more
APP like in that you
just need a one click
It needs to be
constantly fresh
Need the ability
to 'tag’ people
The personal
profile needs to
be less ambitious

10. KEY THINGS TO
CONSIDER?
Developing a platform is expensive
Need to identify the wider benefits
of any investment
Can it support more than one
outcome? Quality surveys, support
plans, person centred plans

11. CVT -CO-PRODUCING DIGITAL MEDIA FOR PEOPLE
WITH DISABILITIES?
• Many people with disabilities use digital media daily
• The challenges they face are sometimes the same but also sometimes different.
Unique solutions needed
• The only way to get it right is involve people co-productively
Philip Gibson Camphill Village Trust philip.gibson@cvt.org.uk

12. FIND OUT MORE INFORMATION AND VIEW A FILM
ABOUT WHAT CVT CONNECT IS
https://www.cvt.org.uk/learn-to-lead/cvt-
connect