The Lived Experience Research Collective
The Lived Experience Research Collective are a group of researchers with lived experience of services in Great Yarmouth.
The Lived Experience Research Collective are a group of researchers with lived experience of services in Great Yarmouth.
Working together, with Brightpurpose Consultants, over a series of workshops, we brought our experience to the development of a bespoke toolkit which will equip us with a framework for service evaluation and the tools needed to effectively report our findings. This work has been made possible with the support of the Lloyds Bank Foundation.
Measuring Service Quality
Ensuring that homelessness support services really meet the needs of people who use them.
Statement of Intent:
The Lived Experience Research Collective are a group of researchers with lived experience of services in Great Yarmouth. Each of us brings our own strengths and skills to the team and are proud to advocate for the voices of those with lived experience. As a group we have experience of designing research questions, designing measurement tools, carrying out semistructured interviews, and analysing data to draw out themes from our research (manual thematic codification of qualitative data). The team are trained in interview techniques, as well as in recognising support needs across a variety of topics (e.g. psychological safety, domestic violence, sexual assault, safeguarding). As a collective, we have robust processes in place to safely carry out interviews and a stringent feedback procedure to manage team member concerns and distressing content.
Although our personal experiences inform our processes, they do not influence our ability to carry out objective research. Our experience helps us to help others feel comfortable to say what they want to say and to give them the confidence to have their voices heard. This means reflecting on both the positives and negatives of their experiences, irrespective of our own opinions, and generating insight that is fair and balanced.
We are doing this work to help make services better for those who need them. We see identifying areas for improvement as the first step in doing this. We are learning all the time, and we want to help services do so too. We know that staff members and service users may have different perspectives on what is working and what isn’t, and we believe that those with lived experience are the people who know best what is needed to improve their experience. As an external group with lived experience ourselves, we are uniquely placed to gather feedback and learning from service users, as we can understand how they may be feeling and show empathy about what they are going through. Our experience tells us that carrying out research in this way allows for more honest conversations and therefore more honest feedback that a service can use to make impactful improvements.
We believe involving people with lived experience in research breaks down barriers. By doing this we can all work towards creating equality within services, free from judgment. By working with the Lived Experience Research Collective, an organisation can show that they are committed to making improvements and reflecting on how they do things from a service user’s perspective.
The Team is ready and able to conduct research, carry out evaluation and report on our findings. If you want to work with us you will find our contact details at the end of the report.
All members of The Lived Experience Collective have their own unique set of skills and talents which they are able to share with others and together they have built a solid community dedicated to changing systems, letting their voices be heard and empowering others to do the same. They have changed lives and will continue to do so as they move forward with the work that they do.
Sue Williams Lived Experience Co-ordinator