Engaging people with lived experience: best practice, challenges and opportunities

There is a growing practice in Scotland to ensure that people’s expertise and knowledge gained through their lived and living experience is valued, and that their voices are at the centre of improving policy and practice through meaningful involvement in decisions which affect them now and in the future. The Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland (the ALLIANCE) is committed to contributing to the realisation of this ambition, and have led the development and implementation of new approaches to lived experience engagement. This is supported by our commissioned research with Democratic Society which explored existing evidence on best practice and highlights key recommendations for ensuring these approaches are strengthened and sustained. In this workshop you will learn more about the support and structures the ALLIANCE implements to support meaningful involvement, with inclusivity, dignity and respect. We will discuss strategies the ALLIANCE uses to ensure people are at the centre of decisions that affect them; how we create a learning environment for professionals and policy makers; and build strong relationships that support a culture shift towards meaningful involvement of lived experience, which we see as integral to embedding a human rights-based approach and ensuring that people’s involvement impacts lasting social change. We will explore examples of what these approaches look like in practice, and how to incorporate it into your own work. Purpose: To share learning and knowledge on the best practice, challenges and opportunities within lived experience engagement identified through our own practice and within our research Outcomes: Participants will feel more knowledgeable having considered the value of lived experience engagement through discussion and presentation Participants are more likely to incorporate the learning shared through their own practice using the report as resource Participants will build connections and relationships across countries based on a shared goal. Session Plan: Welcome and introduction to the session highlighting the purpose and outcomes Icebreaker – what’s one thing that you will have learned and will take away from the conference Presentation by the ALLIANCE sharing the learning from our work and research report Feedback, questions and reflections on what has been shared Facilitated small group discussions on individuals own experiences; oWhat does inclusive and meaningful participation look like to practitioners and participants themselves? oWhat are the barriers to engaging people with lived experience? Feedback from each group with key themes being captured At the end of the session we will share a copy of the research report which identifies; Best practices in engaging people with lived experience Barriers and enablers in engaging people with lived experience How to ensure inclusive and meaningful participation throughout your practice Impact/benefits on policy and decision-making of engaging people with lived experience