Lived Experience Leadership Programme Resource Pack

Chair’s Welcome

I am delighted to introduce this Resource Pack following a successful programme pilot which concluded in June 2024.

Firstly, I would like to thank all the charity participants for their time, effort, and enthusiasm to our pan-island Lived Experience Programme Pilot. Without them sharing their learning and exchanging experiences, the programme would not have had the impact it has had. I know that relationships between participating charities are stronger for having participated in this pilot, and they continue to network and share their experience and progress.

I must also thank the speakers from across the Channel Islands and the UK for all their contributions and for their continued support.

A special thank you to Paula Harriott, who spoke about the importance of Lived Experience at our annual seminars in 2022 and 2023 which started the Foundation’s Lived Experience journey and led to Paula and Jo designing and delivering this programme pilot.

By launching this Resource Pack, we hope it will be of practical help and guidance to the wider charity sector in starting or continuing their own Lived Experience journey.

The Foundation would welcome hearing from charities about their success stories in their work to put lived experience at the heart of their charity.

Philippa Stahelin
October 2024

Lived Experience Leadership Programme Pilot

In September 2023, the Foundation kicked-off its nine month lived experience leadership programme pilot. The purpose of the programme was to build confidence, develop knowledge, and share good practice of engaging with lived experience amongst charity leaders in the Channel Islands. The session topics included:

Introduction to trauma informed theory and practice
Mapping current practice, self-assessment
Preparing a project plan, policies, and resources
Safe practice
How to avoid exploiting the voice of lived experience and re-traumatisation
Co-production
Peer support

Lived Experience in Governance
Volunteering
Employment
Support
Recognition and Reward
Evaluation
Participatory Storytelling

A man and a woman are walking outdoors on a sunny day, engaged in a conversation.

We were lucky to be joined by some inspirational speakers, including Paula Harriott, who talked about how their own lived experiences have shaped their work and the importance of bringing lived experience into the charity sector.

“It was extremely invaluable to be able to network with so many different organisations managing and experiencing so many different challenges in their field.”

We’re going to keep meeting as a group every six months to continue the all-important conversations around lived experience, as well as developing a Charity Resource Pack for the benefit of the wider sector.

“The ability to come together with a shared passion to produce a service that properly recognises the person at the centre of the service we provide has been wonderful.”

Interview with Paula Harriott

Paula Harriott, formerly Head of Prisoner Engagement at Prison Reform Trust, speaks about how her own experiences have shaped her career working within prisons, and the social justice sector more widely. Paula works closely with us, initially as the keynote speaker for the Foundation’s annual seminars, and more recently on co-design and delivery of our lived experience leadership programme pilot.

How have your experiences shaped your career?

During my sentence I was able to access support, but I also learned about everything that is problematic with the prison system. I realised the importance of relationships built on mutual respect, of people holding a vision for you when you can’t see one for yourself, and of compassion – all of which there is a deficit of in prison. The day I was released, there was no feedback system. There was an assumption that nothing needed to be improved which shocked me.

I was determined that this experience wouldn’t be in vain, so I made it my job to ensure that continuous improvement through lived experience is interwoven into the DNA of the social justice sector.

Why is lived experience important for charities?

A lot of charities are founded or supported by people who have had a direct proximity to the issue they’re trying to resolve. They can draw on their own experiences to help the most vulnerable in society to thrive and in many ways, this is why they are an essential lifeline to the communities which they serve.

What does the lived experience programme offer?

Having lived experience doesn’t always mean it’s easy to work for a charity. Each service user is different and those with lived experience may face situations that trigger them. The programme gives charities the tools and support to integrate and welcome lived experience into their charity safely. Sometimes we want to do something, but we’re scared it might go wrong. Having this supportive group gives a space to work out how lived experience can benefit a charity. Ultimately, it teaches people how to build a culture of inclusion, continuous learning, and collaboration.

Charity Resource Pack

Following the success of the programme, we have compiled a Charity Resource Pack for the benefit of the wider sector. Explore all the resources below, most of which can be downloaded and used by your organisation.