How Would You Shape Co-production and Lived Experience Consultancy?
At its best, co-production and lived experience consultancy is more than a service, it’s a movement, a shift in power. It’s a call to listen (really listen!) to the people who’ve walked through the system, felt the cracks and still show up ready to help fix it.
We bring lived and learned experience together to build better training, more inclusive and healthier workplace cultures. We are asking the right questions, but we think the next phase is asking more people. We want to pave the way.
So here’s a thought...
What could this look like if we built it together?
Let’s step out of the usual frameworks for a moment.
Forget job titles, forget funding constraints, forget what's already been done.
If you could design lived experience consultancy from scratch, what would it look like? Who would be in the room? What would you change about how “expertise” is recognised?
Some conversations we’d love to start:
What would true co-production feel like?
Not a tick box and not a feedback session at the end. We’re talking about shaping the entire thing: from the first idea to the last decision. What would help people feel equal in that process?
How would trust be built?
Trust doesn’t come from a policy document. It’s in how we show up, how we listen, how we make space. What kind of systems or behaviours would make you feel genuinely safe, respected and heard?
What support would you build for people with lived experience?
Being invited in and involved is only the first step. People can also need support with mentoring, training, trauma-informed spaces, and long-term roles, not just temporary contracts or roles. What would ideal support look like in practice to you?
What does success look like?
Is it a report? A new policy? Or is it seeing a person who used to feel ignored now leading the room? What are the outcomes that actually matter to you?
This is your invite to reimagine it
We’re not looking for perfect answers but we’re looking for bold ones! Real and honest ones.
If you've ever been consulted on, spoken over, brought in too late, or asked to share your story without being paid or supported, this conversation is especially for you.
Because shaping the future of lived experience consultancy shouldn’t just be in the hands of a few. It should be held by all of us.
Now, it’s over to you:
What would your ideal consultancy look like?
What kind of culture would it have?
How would power be shared?
What would you never want to see again?
Send your thoughts to us in an email. Join in the conversation on social media. Share this with someone who should be part of the conversation.
Let’s build something different and let’s build it together.