25 Mar Community Engagement

At the core of our work is the understanding that those with lived experience offer valuable insight into the challenges they face. Engaging directly with communities allows us to gain a deeper understanding of the obstacles and barriers they encounter, leading to more effective solutions and support.

It is important to acknowledge that factors such as race, ethnicity, gender and disability can shape people’s experiences in complex ways. That’s why we take a sensitive, respectful approach to engagement, ensuring individuals feel safe and supported when sharing their stories. Building trust is key to fostering openness and gaining deeper insights.

Our experience has shown that collaborating with trusted community organisations is key to gathering insights from people with lived experience. These organisations have established relationships with the communities they serve. By working together, we can ensure that the voices of those who are often overlooked or marginalised are heard and understood.

We also recognise that community organisations are best positioned to help us design engagement strategies that are tailored to the specific needs of the groups they support. We invite these organisations to co-design the most effective methods of engagement, whether it’s through one-on-one interviews, standalone workshops, participation in existing events, or intercept interviews during ongoing community activities. The goal is to create an environment where individuals feel comfortable and supported, making it easier for them to share their experiences. By offering multiple avenues for engagement, we ensure that it’s as accessible as possible for all, allowing us to truly listen to the diverse voices within our communities.

Recently, we worked with Southwark to support the recommissioning of its broader health services, with a particular focus on sexual and reproductive health. By partnering with community organisations and co-designing engagement methods, we gained a deeper understanding of the health challenges individuals face and the barriers they encounter in accessing services – insights that go beyond what is revealed through engagement with statutory bodies and the services that support them. For example, by engaging with Roma and Irish Gypsy communities, we discovered that these are distinct groups, each facing unique challenges. This reinforced the importance of recognising their differences rather than grouping them together, as is often done in most literature.

Similarly, in our work with the Forces in Mind Trust on the fourth iteration of Our Community, Our Covenant, we engaged with veterans and other members of the Armed Forces community. By working closely with Armed Forces charities and using a co-production approach, we gathered valuable insights directly from individuals with lived experience. In both projects, ensuring that individuals’ voices shaped our research and recommendations helped us identify systemic obstacles and create practical, user-informed solutions.

Community engagement is about more than collecting data – it’s about truly listening to those most affected by the challenges they face. By working in partnership with community organisations, we create spaces where people with lived experience are heard, their insights are valued and their needs drive meaningful change.