For this years Research Appreciation Day, MQ is celebrating Co-production in research.
Many research projects involve or engage people with lived and living experience of the illness being researched, but this Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement, or PPIE, is slightly different to Co-Production.
Firstly, what do we mean by ‘Lived experience’?
‘Lived or living experience’ is when someone has knowledge and insights gained from personally experiencing a condition, service of social situation in their daily lives. So when we refer to lived experience in terms of mental health research, we are normally referring to someone who either has a mental illness, or who has experience of caring for someone who has.
These people are sometimes referred to as ‘Experts by lived experience’. It’s important to note, that for most people with serious illnesses, these are life-long conditions and so they really have ‘living experience’ of dealing with their condition every day.
Lived experience is different from formal or academic knowledge because it comes from real-life first-hand experience rather than theory or training.
Many scientists and academics have their own lived experience which is what motivated them to study the topic in the first place.
So what’s the difference between co-production and PPIE?
The concepts of co‑production in research and PPIE (Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement) are closely related, but they are not identical.
PPIE refers to involving patients and the public in research in meaningful ways, rather than treating them as passive subjects.
It typically includes:
- Involvement; contributing to study design, materials, or governance
- Engagement; sharing research findings with the public
- Participation; taking part in the study itself
Co-production could be viewed as a step beyond PPIE and is when researchers work in equal partnership with people who have lived experience, sharing power and responsibility throughout a project
It means designing, delivering and evaluating research together, not just consulting people occasionally
- Researchers and public contributors work together as equal partners
- Power and decision‑making are shared
- Lived experience is valued on a par with academic expertise