Manage expectations. Be clear on what people should expect from the experience, the purpose of participation, time commitment needed and what you can deliver based on what people tell you. Be honest to avoid disappointment and lack of engagement now and in the future.  

Adhere to the principle of reciprocity. Think about ways participants can get something back for putting something in. 

Most importantly, recognise that people with lived experience have skills, knowledge and experience to contribute equally with staff at all levels. 

What method(s) should I use? 

Which methods you end up using will depend on the time, budget and staff who have experience in engagement. Throughout the project cycle you may end up using a range of methods, which means you can offer a wider range of people more ways to participate and increase diverse perspectives in your work. Always think of ways of how to make your engagement as accessible as possible, which may mean using a variety of methods. 

Remote influence and participation. This involves using platforms for hosting online meetings, such as Microsoft Teams and Zoom. These have great ways of capturing feedback and discussions by recording online sessions, using the chat, and voting functions. Think about how you could make this accessible though, as some people will not have access to the equipment needed. 

Co-design involves people with relevant skills and experience (including professionals and people with lived experience) coming together to create things such as, training materials or new policies. Decision making is shared equally between everyone involved 

Coproduction involves staff and people with lived experience having genuinely equal and reciprocal relationships when designing activities, projects or services. This method challenges existing power dynamics with users of an organisation having as much influence as staff in designing and improving projects and services for those who use them. Coproduction is based on the principles of accessibility, diversity, equality and reciprocity (getting something back for putting something in). 

Be creative. When thinking about accessibility in participation not everyone is enthusiastic by traditional meeting settings (that includes staff!). Think about different venues outside of the office, use art, storytelling and ideas trees to make participation as engaging and accessible as possible. Think about using more organic methods of engagement like world cafés or open space where people participating create and manage agendas giving ownership to the people involved. 

Digital technology and social media can be used as a quick and convenient way to reach lots of people, whether that be through social media or large-scale emails using Mailchimp. This can be a useful space to test ideas, topics or themes to follow up with more in-depth engagement and provides an anonymous safe space for people to contribute. 

More traditional ways of engagement can be: 

• Discussion/Focus Groups – a small group of people feeding back on a specific topic. 

• Interviews – more in-depth engagement with people for case studies. 

• Questionnaires/Surveys – useful way of collecting data both quantitative and qualitative, which can be enhanced by including people with lived experience in their development. 

• Steering groups – members of staff and people with lived experience influencing strategic decisions. 

As you can see there are so many ways to involve people with lived experience in your work, and these are just some examples of how you can do this. When choosing what method(s) to use always ask yourself how I can make this as accessible as possible to enable diversity of perspectives.