Codesigned Service Standards

Overview

To give residents the best possible service from us, we launched an initiative to co-design our Service Standards. This is also part of our commitment to becoming the best council for our residents.

In local government, the Service Standards are a model for:

• genuine collaboration
• transparency
• nnovation

The project aimed to improve how we work with the community by making sure we're respectful, clear and accountable. 

How residents got involved

We ran a 6-week campaign across different channels to recruit a panel of residents. The residents had to represent the borough's local demographic. Over 30,000 people saw the campaign online, and 79 expressed their interest in taking part. From this group, 7 residents formed the co-design panel working alongside council staff.

Our approach

Being inclusive

We made sure to reach out to under-represented voices, including:

• youth ambassadors
• care leavers
• sheltered accommodation tenants
• Action Disability Kensington and Chelsea
• faith groups

Shared ownership

Residents led the co-design process. They endorsed the final standards and developed the plan to deliver it.

Using an independent facilitator

The Chief Executive of Volunteer Centre Kensington and Chelsea facilitated the sessions. This ensured that council staff did not dominate the discussions.

Being mindful of residents' time

We were mindful of participants’ time. We offered a warm, nutritious meal and a £25 gift voucher for each session.

The Service Standards in action

We ran six co-design workshops over a year to gather residents' experiences of contacting the council. Their input shaped several versions of the Service Standards. We then tested the final version in a borough-wide consultation. From there, we refined it again based on feedback.

Residents also helped create:

• a web presence to showcase the standards and implementation plan
• an internal communications campaign to embed the standards across our services
• maturity assessments and action plans, carried out by the customer access team, to support long-term adoption

The results

Together with residents, we achieved:

• a new set of co-designed Service Standards which now guide how we engage with the community
• trust-building with communities still healing from Grenfell
• interest from 79 residents, with 7 taking part, chosen to reflect a wide mix of backgrounds and lived experiences
• a digital campaign that reached over 40,000 people, generated 502 link clicks, and had a 4 percent engagement rate
• 59 survey responses and 76 residents participating in face-to-face consultation events
• residents acting as ambassadors, sharing their stories and promoting the standards

Participant quotes

• “It’s really important the council knows what residents want and the residents know what the council can do. Then hopefully you get something that works for everybody.”
• “If there is real change, it needs to be with residents rather than just within the council itself.”
• “We hope that setting clear standards means residents can speak and be heard better, to the benefit of all in making Kensington and Chelsea a good place to live.”

Conclusion

This project is a powerful example of co-design in action. Residents were not only consulted but also empowered to shape the services they rely on. It reflects our commitment to listening, learning, and leading with the community. It also sets a new standard for how local government should engage.

Read the co-designed Service Standards.