Members of the Strategic Consumer and Community Group, in conjunction with the Consumers Health Forum of Australia, held a workshop for the Consortium Research Fellows and other early career researchers in Wollongong following the Think Tank.
The consumer workshop explored the principles and practices needed for meaningful consumer and community involvement in research and co-design. Participants discussed the importance of working in ways that are inclusive, equitable, accessible, transparent, accountable, respectful of lived experience, trusting, reciprocal, and psychologically safe.
A key discussion focused on the need for genuine power sharing in co-design. Participants reflected that co-design should provide consumers with real influence over decision-making and be transparent about where decision-making power sits. Examples highlighted the impact on consumers when they shared personal and vulnerable experiences but received no communication or feedback from research projects for extended periods.
The workshop emphasised that consumer involvement should begin early in the research process and be tailored to the purpose and level of engagement that is both meaningful and achievable at each stage of the research cycle.
Practical examples included involving consumers in developing expressions of interest for recruitment activities and ensuring that those most affected by research or policy changes are represented in co-design processes.
The workshop reinforced that successful co-design is measured by whether consumer input changes decisions and highlighted the importance of communicating consumer insights transparently within research teams and back to the broader community.