Co-design and co-production means working in partnership with those that have direct, personal experience of the area being studied. Rather than involving people only as participants, these approaches invite them to shape research process. Co-design focuses on collaboratively developing ideas, questions, and methods based on lived experience, ensuring people have real influence over design. Co-production goes further – with participants and researchers having a shared say in decision-making and determining actions throughout, from framing questions and interpreting findings to agreeing recommendations and guiding delivery.
For this blog in the series, we’ll look at how co-design and co-production with those with lived experience is used to bring about more informed approaches and findings, referring to examples from our own work.
Why co-design and co-production are used
At IFF our role is often to explore what works well and why for certain groups of people, in specific environments – like a healthcare setting or housing service. Co-design and/or co-production can help make sure the people most affected by these systems or environments are a key part of shaping the decisions and research that aims to improve them. When there’s an opportunity for research to be guided by those with lived experience, it makes it more insightful and impactful by ensuring it’s:
It’s especially useful when applied to work that seeks to amplify underrepresented voices, as it can highlight key aspects and nuances of complex experiences or social issues that may otherwise have been missed.
How we’ve collaborated with those with lived experience
We’ve previously used co-design and co-production with lived experience on a project related to exploring neurodivergent people’s relationship to gambling harms, and an evaluation of a Scottish Government’s whole family wellbeing funding.
Shaping delivery and neuro-inclusive gambling harm support
Tools and resources for GambleAware
Our research investigated experiences of gambling and gambling harms among neurodivergent people to facilitate a shift towards more neuro-inclusive care. We worked with those with lived experience throughout the project to make sure our method and analysis was as effective as possible, as well as co-designing practical tools and resources based on lived experience:
Meaningful engagement with young people to improve national support services
The Whole Family Wellbeing Fund (WFWF)
We were asked by the Scottish Government to evaluate Year 2 of the WFWF which aims to ensure children, young people and families get the support they need, when they need it. We explored how funding was used, how services were delivered with a focus on early intervention and holistic support, and assessed the impact of the programme.
We focused on involving young people in the project to inform our communications and make sure outputs were relevant, as well as helping build their own confidence and skills through research experience:
We received positive feedback from a young person involved in the panel:
“I love[d] seeing our poster on the [Scottish Government] website…it made me feel like I’d made a difference.” and “They [the co-design sessions] were great. I liked learning about research and helping [the researchers] to make it [the research] better and easier for other people.”
Coming up next
Collective effort and active collaboration are key to ensuring that all stages of the research process reflects those with lived experience. And ultimately, it means we support clients to ensure their policies, programmes and interventions are more effective and result in a better, more inclusive society.
Next, we’ll explore how we use trauma-informed approaches to oversee research that reduces barriers to participation and empowers people to share their stories on their own terms.
You can also check out our previous blog looking at how safeguarding and ethical rigour provide robust safety and security for all involved in the research process.
¹ WFWF evaluation findings – a co-designed and co-produced infographic
