A rights based Scotland: where participation by people with lived experience is recognised and valued on an equal footing with professional expertise
A rights based Scotland: where participation by people with lived experience is recognised and valued on an equal footing with professional expertise
Emma Hutton, Head of Communications and Engagement, writes about new research published by the Commission into paying people with lived experience for their participation in research, policy and other work.
Across Scotland, people with lived experience of human rights issues are contributing their time, energy, and vital expertise to work to protect and promote human rights.
This kind of participation is fundamental to taking a human rights based approach, to the work of the Commission, and to the work of many public bodies and civil society organisations.
It’s important that contributions by people with lived experience are recognised and valued, on an equal footing, with professional efforts and expertise.
Payment for participation
Providing payment – whether monetary, or in the form of vouchers or ‘in kind’ resources – can help to do this.
It can be one way of acknowledging the value of the time and expertise people contribute. It can enable people to participate, particularly those who may face financial hardship. And it can help address inequalities in the status and relationship between professional and lived experience expertise.
Currently, in our own work, the Commission routinely covers participants’ expenses and any access costs which enable them to take part. But we don’t currently provide financial recognition to people with lived experience for the time, energy and expertise they contribute to the Commission’s work. We would like to change that.
It’s important that contributions by people with lived experience are recognised and valued, on an equal footing, with professional efforts and expertise.”
Risks and challenges
However, providing people with payment for their participation is not without its risks and challenges. There are social security and tax implications. Employment law needs to be considered. Ethical and practical issues need to be worked through in detail.
Different kinds of participation come with different questions and considerations. For example, someone’s long-term, sustained involvement in co-producing policy over many months or years, is different from someone else’s one off participation in an event or in research.
New research
To help us find a way forward, we commissioned a research project in 2021. We were keen to learn from other organisations, and to review evidence and insight from relevant literature and guidance.
Today we’ve published this important research, authored by Rhiann McLean. It explores the benefits and challenges of different approaches to paying people to participate in research, policy making, and other processes. The research approach included desk-based research and semi-structured interviews with nine case studies, leading to a series of findings and recommendations for the Commission.
The Commission has reviewed the report in detail and welcomes and accepts the research findings and recommendations.
We also hope the research report can help guide others who are seeking to develop their own approaches in this area. We know that colleagues across the public and third sectors are looking at these questions too.
Next steps
From here, the Commission will now begin to take steps to implement the report’s recommendations for our own work. This will include:
- Developing a values-based statement and a policy around payment for participation, working alongside our Lived Experience Leadership Group.
- Seeking specialist advice on the relationship between participation and employment law.
- Scoping out options for provision of individual financial advice for participants to fully understand the impacts of payment in their own specific circumstances.
We welcome opportunities to share our experiences with others taking similar steps, and to hear from those with learning we might benefit from.
Please do get in touch!
Read the report in full: PDF