Partnering with Lived Experience Experts - PDM1240

The advanced workshop focuses on practical strategies that support safe, meaningful, and impactful involvement aligned with contemporary expectations from research funders, government agencies, and community stakeholders. Importantly, it explicitly models how authentic partnership approaches and embedded lived experience perspectives can successfully operate in practice.

This workshop is co-led by Ahlia Griffiths, a Lived Experience Expert and Michelle Gooey, a Public Health Physician and Research Fellow, who have a strong and established working partnership as part of the Strengthening implEMentation Practice and Research with Equity (SEMPRE) research program. It leverages the work of SEMPRE, an internationally recognised program of research focused on how to operationalise equity across research, policy and practice, embedded within the Health and Social Care Unit (HSCU), SPHPM. The workshop will draw directly on a Lived Experience Expert model established by Ms Griffiths in partnership with Prof Helen Skouteris, known as the VILLAGE, plus completed research led by Dr Gooey.

A key strength of this work is that it is co-designed and co-delivered with Lived Experience Experts embedded within HSCU through the national VILLAGE. Participants will explore the principles underpinning inclusive and equitable involvement practices, including power-sharing, cultural safety, accessibility, remuneration, trauma-aware practice, and the avoidance of tokenism. This advanced workshop provides a practical introduction to meaningful lived experience involvement in health and social research, policy, and service design. No prior knowledge or experience of working with Lived Experience Experts is needed.

Who should attend

The primary target audience includes health and social care professionals, practitioners, policy makers, researchers, community engagement professionals, implementation scientists, managers, and leaders working across government, community and not-for-profit sectors. The course will also be suitable for postgraduate students and early- and mid-career researchers.

What you will learn

Learning objectives

  • Explain the value and significance of Lived Experience Experts with community service delivery and health research.
  • Identify biases and barriers that may influence Lived Experience Experts involvement in research, and community and health service delivery.
  • Apply strength-based, inclusive, and practical strategies to engage individuals with lived experience across research and project stages
  • Determine effective approaches and best practices for community-based lived experience involvement for industry-based scenarios and real-world case studies.
  • Develop practical approaches to embedding lived experience involvement across diverse social and health professional or organisational contexts.

You are encouraged to bring a real-world example of how you would like support to include the voice of lived experience. This will help ensure your research or topic of interest reflects the needs and priorities of those most affected, which in turn strengthens the relevance and impact of your outcomes.

Program structure

Key concepts that the workshop will cover include:

Rationale and evidence base for LEE partnerships

Examples of global contemporary approaches to lived experience involvement drawn from Dr Gooey’s and Ms Griffith’s own research Core technical concepts such as the IAP2 engagement spectrum, strengths vs deficit approaches, four stages of co-creation Connecting and building relationships with Lived Experience Experts and the importance of trust Cultural safety and trauma-aware practice

Remuneration and recognition of LEEs

Common barriers and challenges to working with LEEs, and how these can be addressed The pitfalls of tokenism

Practical strategies and case studies for LEE involvement across the research/project lifecycle, drawn from Dr Gooey and Ms Griffith’s own work, partner organisations and global collaborators.

Participants will apply concepts to real-world scenarios and identify opportunities to strengthen lived experience involvement within their own professional contexts.

Ahlia Griffiths

Co-lead, Health and Social Care Unit

Ahlia Griffiths is a leading advocate for embedding lived experience in health and medical research. Drawing on a Lived Experience perspective, Ahlia has contributed as Chief Investigator, co-author, and presenter, and holds a distinctive lived experience role within Monash University’s Health and Social Care Unit.  In this position, Ahlia champions the integration of lived experience across all stages of research, ensuring end-user perspectives inform health policy, strategy, and review.

Michelle Gooey

Co-lead, Health and Social Care Unit

Michelle Gooey is a Research Fellow and Public Health Physician in the internationally recognised program, SEMPRE (Strengthening Implementation Practice and Research with Equity).  Dr Gooey is also a co-founder of the international EQUitable Implementation research and Practice network (EQUIP Network).