Not just another consultation: Research co-production in practice

Australia has a long history of policy on the involvement of people with experience of mental health issues in service delivery, policy and research. Various National Mental Health Strategy documents and health research statements emphasise the critical role that lived experience plays in our system, and its place in decision-making. However, putting things into practice has been a little less encouraging, especially in the research space. This is in part due to limited guidance on how to do involvement effectively, and especially what all the different levels of involvement actually mean. Confusion about what people expect when terms like co-design and co-production are used has led some people to simply re-badge their consultation processes as co-design. This results in disappointment, dissatisfaction and in some cases anger from people involved, and is becoming a significant problem across research, services and policy alike. People with mental health issues are reluctant to engage for fear their input will not truly be heard, and have limited influence. For groups such as children and young people, who often already carry these fears, having a clear understanding of good practice in co-design and co-production is critical. Good co-production is responsive to the needs of the individual project and people involved. This presentation will explore the broad values and principles that underpin co-produced research in practice, to encourage delegates to challenge their preconceptions and explore approaches for their own work.

Indi Clarke will share his knowledge and insights from 5 years as the Executive Officer of Koorie Youth Council (KYC) and KYC’s framework for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth participation, Wayipunga. Wayipunga in the Dja Dja Wurrung language means ‘supporting young people,’ and is the first resource of its kind in the country.
The resource, developed for and by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people, is an essential resource for all people working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people and our communities. It provides workers, organisations and government with the values and knowledge to meaningfully work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people and our communities, and the strategies to support young people's participation in decision-making processes, from a genuine place of learning and understanding.

Through highlighting KYC’s work, you will learn from demonstrated examples of how to use the resource and apply it, in the work that you do and how the framework relates to organisations, individuals and the role we must play to support young people in our communities.

Wayipunga calls on everyone who works with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people to join us in sharing their voices and practising the principles of meaningful engagement to ensure they are empowered to participate in matters that are important to them.