How do I involve people with lived experience in my work?
At the heart of meaningful, involvement work is a simple principle often summed up as: “nothing about us without us.” Creating change with disabled people and people with mental health conditions – rather than for them – ensures that decisions, ideas and projects are shaped by those most affected by them.
This stop brings together practical tools, principles and examples to support you in building genuine involvement into your work. You’ll find introductions to different participation methods, guidance on how to plan and facilitate inclusive sessions and templates to help you structure co‑design projects with clarity and care. The aim is to help you create spaces where people feel respected, valued and able to contribute in the ways that work for them.
These resources reflect what Barnwood Trust currently uses to guide our involvement practice. Every organisation, group and community is different, so be sure to adapt, reshape and build on these tools in ways that make sense for your work. And if you’re already using great approaches, guides or templates, we’d love to learn from you. Please share them with us so we can keep strengthening this space together.
Ways to involve people
Ways to involve people in decisions and change’
A simple summary of the differences between consultation, co‑design and co‑production.
Engaging people in your work
Key things to consider when you don’t have direct connections with the communities you want to involve.
Co-production: What it is and how to do it
This co-produced short film by Social Care Institute for Excellence highlights what co-production is and how you can do it.
Things to consider when involving people
Participation Principles
A guide to participation principles, with tips, reflection questions and examples from Barnwood Trust’s work to help you plan meaningful participation.
Designing and running inclusive sessions
Introduction to Facilitation
An overview of what a facilitator is, what they do and the qualities that make a good facilitator.
Facilitating inclusive sessions with experts by lived experience
Guidance on how to plan inclusive sessions framed around common questions and key considerations for facilitators.
Downloadable templates and examples to support your involvement work
More resources
A shared narrative for co-production
A comprehensive co-produced guide by Disability Rights UK exploring co-production principles, ways of working together and how you might approach co-production with planning, managing resources and recruitment.
Co-production for nature-based solutions
A practical toolbox and framework from Connecting Nature to support designing and implementing your own co-production processes.
Co-producing pride in nature
A guide by the University of Surrey which supports landowners and managers to achieve LGBTQ+ inclusivity in nature.