2023 INSIGHT Research
2023 has been an exciting year for INSIGHT Research. Expert Citizens membership has had the opportunity to work on projects covering a range of important topics including substance use, gender informed approaches in service provision, and influencing wider research practice across the country. As ever, at the forefront of these activities is the importance of working with people with lived experience whose expertise and understanding of their experiences is crucial to improving public services. Here we provide a brief overview of some of the key projects we’ve worked on this year.
[/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https://expertcitizens.bwardemo.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Picture1.jpg” title_text=”Picture1″ _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” box_shadow_style=”preset1″ global_colors_info=”{}”][/et_pb_image][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]Changing Futures
As Expert Citizens are partners in the Changing Futures programme, Research and Evaluations Lead Sophia was well placed to support the evaluation being delivered by the Centre for Health and Development at Staffordshire University by working with Changing Futures customers and case co-ordinators to write case studies.
Seven Changing Futures customers agreed to work with Sophia to develop case studies centering their lived experience of the programme, and other things that were happening in their lives that are important to them. To deliver on this work in a compassionate and trauma informed way, Sophia approached the ‘data collection’ in an informal and flexible way, sometimes taking months to spend time with individuals to get to know them and write up their experiences. Changing Futures Case Co-ordinators, Recovery Community Co-ordinators, and the Case manager have been essential support for this work.
Gender informed service provision for women
This year saw Expert Citizens work with staff and clients at Brighter Futures Orchid Women’s service to develop a charter for their service. As part of this work, Expert Citizens female membership and staff have been attending the art group at the service and building relationships with staff and women who attend the service. This is just the beginning of this relationship and we’re looking forward to what 2024 will bring.
We partnered with the Centre for Justic Innovation and Staffordshire University to deliver a project commissioned by The JABBS Foundation and the Office of the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner to expand the evidence base on the needs of women who use drugs and alcohol and the ways that those needs are currently being met through a qualitative research project focused on the West Midlands: Exploring women’s experience of drug and alcohol treatment in the West Midlands
Expert Citizens has been working with Fiona McCormack from Staffordshire University since 2019 on work focusing on gender informed approaches to services for women in Stoke-on-Trent. This year saw the publication of an academic paper bringing together all of this work, which can be found here: Women, homelessness and multiple disadvantage in Stoke-on-Trent: The need for safe places in the context of wider health and social inequalities
[/et_pb_text][et_pb_blurb image=”https://expertcitizens.bwardemo.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Picture2.png” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” box_shadow_style_image=”preset1″ global_colors_info=”{}”]In the latter half of 2023 Stoke-on-Trent City Council then commissioned Expert Citizens to carry out an evaluation of drug and alcohol services in Stoke-on-Trent.
[/et_pb_blurb][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″]Substance use in Stoke-on-Trent
Expert Citizens partnered with Staffordshire University to deliver research commissioned by Stoke-on-Trent City Council to improve understanding of how and why the psychoactive substance known as ‘Monkey Dust’ is used in Stoke-on-Trent. A team of Expert Citizens members worked alongside the Research and Evaluation Lead as peer researchers to interview people with lived experience of using ‘Monkey Dust’ and accessing support in Stoke-on-Trent. You can read the Executive summary of this project here: Research into the use of the psychoactive substance known as ‘Monkey Dust’ in Stoke-on-Trent.
[/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https://expertcitizens.bwardemo.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/P1022454-scaled.jpg” title_text=”P1022454″ align=”center” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” box_shadow_style=”preset1″ global_colors_info=”{}”][/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]Influencing research practice
This year Expert citizens supported the Health research Authority’s ‘The People Centred Clinical Research Project’ to co-create nine hallmarks that research and researchers will show if they are doing good people-centred clinical research. An infograph of these nine hallmarks can be found here: Health Research Authority: People-Centred clinical research infographic
2023 saw the development of a new and exciting partnership with Keele Universities Impact Accelerator Unit. The project is funded by funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research and it’s overarching goal is to bridge the gap between researchers and local communities, ensuring that underserved groups are not just heard but play a central role in shaping research priorities. Expert Citizens delivered two Community Conversations to bring together researchers, members of the public and people working in the third sector to build relationships. You can read more about this project here: Empowering Communities: A New Chapter in Health Research Partnerships – Expert Citizens
[/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https://expertcitizens.bwardemo.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/20231124_110933-scaled.jpg” title_text=”20231124_110933″ align=”center” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” box_shadow_style=”preset1″ global_colors_info=”{}”][/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]If you would like to know more about how Expert Citizens can facilitate a Community Conversation for your project, or deliver research and evaluation projects with lived experience, please email: sophia.insight@expertcitizens.org.uk
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