Reconceptualising coproduction as activism together

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted life across the world in multiple ways and those already minoritised and disenfranchised, like care-experienced young people, bore the brunt of losses and mental health difficulties. This article reports on the findings of ‘Feeling Well, Feeling Cared For’ an innovative knowledge exchange project on care experience and mental health in Scotland that was seriously disrupted by the pandemic. The article explores how these disruptions created new opportunities for deepening and slowing down coproductive practices, allowing relationships between collaborators to become stronger. Three finding areas are presented and discussed through the lenses of coproduction and quiet activism. These include lessons developed through the process of carrying out this project during a pandemic, the findings from our discussions with young people about mental health, and our reflections on the meanings of activism in the context of a coproductive knowledge exchange process. The discussion highlights how learning from this project might benefit coproductive practices in the future, especially as global interest in coproduction continues to grow across a range of disciplines.