Co-production and participatory research

Co-Production and Participatory Research with and by the WAARC team

• Promoting equality, diversity and inclusive in research ethics policy and practice - Kirsty Liddiard and Sophie Phillips worked with Jennifer Burr (Medicine and Population Health) to explore the most appropriate ways of addressing ED&I in research ethics policy and processes. 

• This work linked with Ethical Research and Equality, Diversity and Inclusion films produced by the PRN which included WAARC's Lauren White. These four short videos outline the opportunities and challenges of doing inclusive and ethical research, based on reflections from participatory and collaborative research projects across the university.

• Kirsty Liddiard led the Why Can't we Dream Coproduction project with young disabled people with life-limiting and life-threatening impairments which includes the Living Life to the Fullest Co-Production Toolkit: an approach that centres co-researchers in the research process.

• Lauren White has worked in collaboration with members of  the Maker{Futures} programme team on a journal article that explores ways of  collaboratively with Disabled Young People as Researchers, Designers and Makers and has led models of research project on the Reimagining Trustworthy Autonomous Systems with Young People

• Medications and my mental health offers co-produced resources to support conversations about mental health with people with learning disabilities

• Tired of Spinning Plates? An exploration of the mental health of older carers/adults of people with learning disabilities  has co-produced an online exhibition and digital stories made by family carers and people with learning disabilities who share their experiences of care and mental health 

• Supported Employment we worked with disabled people and academic partners to develop resources to support high quality models of supported employment. 

• Runswick-Cole, K., Smith, M., Ryan, S., and Hatton, C. (2024). ‘Should we even have questions?’ From survey to exhibition – co-producing research about ‘mental health’ with carers and adults with learning disabilities. International Journal of Care and Caring . This paper reflects on the challenges of co-producing research in the context of funded research projects in the university: Smith, M., Runswick-Cole, K., Croot, E., Ryan, S., Hatton, C., Cisneros, R., Kassa, C. and Douglas, P., 2025. 
• Tired of spinning plates: a rapid scoping review of the mental health needs and mental health support of carers of adults with learning disabilities in the United Kingdom. International Journal of Disability and Social Justice. This paper is a co produced rapid scoping review of the literature about mental health and carers of adults with learning disabilities. Evidence synthesis is rarely carried out in co-production with  disabled people and family carers and this article aimed to open up the process.
• Human activism with Speakup Self-advocacy presents a number of co-produced films with self-advocates with learning disabilities who reflect on the support, community, employment and comradeship that helps them to live the kinds of lives that they desire.
• ScHARR Mini Master Class in Health Research #8 Dr Liz Croot and guests - Doing Research with People with Learning Disabilities - thinking differently about doing research through co-production.
• Humanising Healthcare showcases the humanising healthcare practices created by researchers with learning disabilities including colleagues from WAARC partners Speakup Self-advocacy and Sheffield Voices and reflects on participatory approaches to research from ethics through methods, analysis to dissemination and Open Research. Humanising Healtcare is also developing Humanising approaches to Open Data and Open Research - Nikita Hayden, Bojana Daw Srdanovic and Dan Goodley have written a document entitled 'Thinking of using this dataset? Read the team’s approach to Open Data that involves people with learning disabilities'. This explains how we have approached Open Data with a firm commitment to the lives and aspirations of people with learning disabilities - and a continued engagement with co-production. This document is a compulsory read for anyone who wants to use our data which. This document and the data can be found here deposited here.
• Impact of advocacy - by Speakup Self-advocacy - many reflections on the power of self-advocacy

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Connections with other Wellcome funded projects at the University of Sheffield

WAARC is also connecting with other Wellcome funded projects at the University of Sheffield that promote participatory methods:

• Connections with the Wellcome Trust Discovery Award Cripping Breath - Kirsty Liddiard and her team are exploring a number of matters pertaining to the promotion of positive research culture and are documenting some of their thoughts and consideration in their excellent blog here

• Sharing knowledge with colleagues on the Wellcome Trust Discretionary Award Disability Matters especially the work on promoting the work being undertaken on positive research environments, knowledge exchange and growing a new cadre of disabled and disability-positive researchers.