By Jon Sands, Programme Officer at Resolve Poverty
For the past year Resolve Poverty, in partnership with Action Together, has been providing support to the lived experience group that forms part of the Oldham Poverty Action Network (OPAN). Involving people with lived experience of poverty, and other related issues, in the design of policies/services can have a range of benefits for a service provider and will give them a greater confidence in the likely practical outcomes of their proposals.
Just as important to consider though is the impact that taking part in co-production has on those bringing the lived experience. The OPAN lived experience group is now quite long standing having been a continuation of the Oldham Poverty Truth Commission (PTC) which began in 2021. The following is a brief summary of the impacts that taking part in the PTC, OPAN and specific co-production projects has had on this group.
One key point is the sense of empowerment that involvement in these projects has given the group members. Instead of their previous feelings of powerlessness and having no say in decisions that impact on their lives, one commented that they were “now heard in spaces I used to avoid or feel judged in.” Similarly another looked back on the continual frustration he used to feel: “I used to feel like I was fighting the system, but now I feel like I am working with the system to make it better.”
Being part of a group has also helped to counter the isolation they felt previously as individuals and has allowed them to support and encourage each other. Many of the group have been through some very difficult times and sharing these stories can initially be challenging even within the group, let alone sharing these experiences with third parties. One stated that “Sharing difficult life experiences in an open forum is never easy but has created a bond between group members” and “we know we have all gone through hardship and we respect each other”.
Increased confidence has been another by-product of participation in the group, with many now feeling happy to raise their voice in large meetings and even to facilitate and present events:
“I feel I have gained confidence from doing this group to be in these spaces I never would have dreamed of being in.”
The group has also developed a real proactive and positive approach – “We are finding solutions, not just focussing on the problems” – and has a deserved pride where their views have been listened to. The design of the new Customer Service Centre in Oldham is an example of this – one commented that “[this] was a real highlight – our suggestions were greatly appreciated and quickly acted upon” and “seeing changes after we shared our thoughts made me feel really proud to be a part of it.” The transparency and honesty of the Council on the Customer Service Centre project was welcomed by the group – “It helped that they were open and honest about their situation, the budget and things – they didn’t overpromise to us.”
So far, all the points mentioned have been positive impacts of lived experience participation in co-production, but a couple of potential issues were raised by the group which mirror positive points mentioned above.
Firstly, any organisation bringing people with lived experience into co-production needs to do this both with understanding and offering appropriate support before, during and after meetings. Lived experience participants may not have the same experience of taking part in formal meetings as others attending so should not be expected to understand the norms of such meetings, and their involvement may need to be encouraged. Also, as mentioned earlier, lived experience participants are likely to be sharing traumatic experiences from their own life and one group member highlighted how vulnerable that made them feel sharing these in front of people they did not know.
Finally, the group identified that if an organisation was not serious about providing lived experience with a genuine voice in co-production of their project then any involvement was counter productive. In contrast to their Oldham Customer Service Centre involvement, projects that were not followed through, or where their involvement seemed to be a box ticking exercise, left them feeling frustrated, used and disappointed.
However, overall the process of being ‘lived experience advisors’ for individuals in the group has been a very positive one, and the group has plans for 2025 to encourage a wider range of people to share their stories with the intention of effectively directing positive change for their local area.
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This article is featured in our Greater Manchester monthly bulletin.
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