Disability Rights UK has committed to embedding co-production at every level of the charity, as it recruits people with lived experience to provide strategic advice and shape its work.

DR UK has partnered with University College London’s Co-production Collective, which supports organisations in this area, to prioritise co-production within the charity over the next year.

The charity’s co-production group will involve people with lived experience of disability from a variety of backgrounds, including DR UK staff and a board member, as well as representatives from external organisations or disabled people’s organisations.

The initial aim of the group will be to work towards embedding co-production across the organisation, a spokesperson for the charity said, which DR UK anticipates will be the group’s main aim for at least the next two years. 

The spokesperson said: “We fully expect to keep the group running after this and we are open to this taking different directions as the group works together.

“For example, it may be that we then have designated working groups for different projects or areas of the organisation.”

The spokesperson said that the group’s ultimate aim is for co-production to be “central to decision making”, adding that this way of working "isn't just about consulting with people; it’s about working together with disabled people and making sure their voices are heard in every decision we make”.

The spokesperson said that embedding co-production meant implementing change at every level of the organisation, from senior management to frontline staff. 

This includes making sure that co-production becomes part of daily practice, that it runs through the organisation’s culture, that the charity has a strategy and resources available to enable co-production and that all staff are upskilled to working in this way.

The charity is encouraging people with intersectional experiences to apply, including disabled people from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds, those with mental health challenges or learning disabilities, those who identify as LGBT+, those living in rural areas and those with a range of impairments or health conditions.

The charity is open to re-recruiting if the group is missing any voices or if some members move on, the spokesperson said. “A key part of co-production is embracing flexibility and change which we are very open to.”

The spokesperson said: “We are aware that embedding co-production within an organisation can be challenging and complex. It involves looking at every aspect of how an organisation works.

“We are under no illusion as to the scale of this challenge. But we are up for it and hope that our learning throughout the process will be both of use and interest to others contemplating this journey.”

The group will meet about once every one to two months over the next two years, with meetings being held online.

Participants will be compensated for their time, receiving £60 per meeting in either Amazon vouchers or bank transfer. DR UK added it could cover extra costs relating to involvement, which could be discussed on an individual basis.

The group will feed into board and staff meetings but will work together as a group to determine how this will work in practice, the spokesperson said. Co-production will also become a rolling agenda item at the charity’s board meetings.