# Context of co-production in social care In social care, co-production means working *with* people rather than *for* them. It’s a shift away from traditional models where care is delivered by professionals to passive recipients, and towards a partnership approach, that is, one that recognises the insight and experience of people receiving support as essential to getting things right. Co-production invites people giving and receiving support to shape care services together: from the way a single team works, to how a whole organisation or system is run. At its heart, it’s about relationships, shared ownership and mutual respect. *** #### Key Principles in Practice These principles guide how co-production shows up in social care - not just as theory, but in how people treat one another: * **Equality**\ Everyone’s knowledge and perspective matter. Lived experience carries as much weight as professional training. * **Reciprocity**\ The care relationship is one of give and take. Everyone involved brings something of value, and everyone benefits. * **Respect**\ Personal histories, identities and experiences are acknowledged and honoured. People are not reduced to a set of needs or diagnoses. * **Empowerment**\ People are supported to take an active role in shaping the care and support they receive and in shaping the systems behind it. *** Co-production in social care is not a one-size-fits-all model. It looks different in different places, but when it’s done well, it leads to care that is more responsive, more humane, and more likely to last. --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://play.equal.care/equal-cares-model/co-production/context-of-co-production-in-social-care.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.