User involvement
The people that charities and funders exist to help often have little or no influence over those organisations’ decisions. And there is rarely any way to let organisations know how they would like things to be different.
User involvement is all about designing and delivering solutions ‘with’ people rather than ‘to’ people. This way, power is shared and better answers are found.
We want to support charities and funders to do more of it.
Key tools, resources and commentary on user involvement
User voice: Putting people at the heart of impact practice
This report explains how charities can best harness the views and needs of their beneficiaries in order to improve their impact.
User mapping techniques: A guide for the social sector
This guide outlines how user mapping techniques can be used to better understand people's lived experiences and drive impact.
My best life: Priorities for digital technology in the youth sector
Over twelve months, we worked with a group of young people experiencing multiple disadvantages in the London Borough of Camden. We sought to understand their experiences—as told in their own words—and identify how digital technology could help.
Putting people with lived experience in the lead
Darren Murinas, CEO, Expert Citizens
Expert Citizens is a Stoke-based independent group of people who have all experienced multiple needs. As ambassadors of lived experience, they encourage decision-makers to listen, learn, and then lead systems change in local services to make them even better. Here the organisation’s CEO shares his experience of connecting user voice, governance, strategy, and service design. He argues that charities still have a long way to go before they are truly putting people with lived experience in the lead.
4 insights from working with ‘experts by experience’
We talk a lot about the need for charities to involve the intended user when designing services. But we also know that it’s easier said than done. So we decided to have a go at doing. Here are four things we learned from mapping young people's experiences in Camden.
Bridging the gap between charities and their users
Involving users in planning, delivering and evaluating a charity's work can help make services more effective. But it's also a matter of principle, argues Shona Curvers.
Funders can set a powerful precedent by involving service users
It has been broadly accepted by charities from across the sector that listening to users is not only the moral thing to do—it’s also the smart and logical thing to do. So, how do funders fit into all of this?
If you don’t know, ask: How to decide what to fund
The RS Macdonald Charitable Trust recently commissioned NPC to research two of their funding themes—tackling child abuse, and visual impairment. Douglas Hamilton, the Trust's Director, explains why, and shares what he has learned along the way.
‘Poverty porn’ or no, let’s welcome prompts to think differently
The Comic Relief video of Ed Sheeran in Liberia has been branded 'poverty tourism' by the annual Radi-Aid awards. The debate around its content highlights the difficult calls charities must make to impact their chosen causes. But it also prompts charities to think hard about how they're depicting the people and causes they work for. Katy Murray explores.
Trump reminds us of the power of voice
The new President Elect of the United States Donald Trump has in the past described himself as a 'voice for the voiceless'. Evidently some voters agree. Charities too aim to amplify the voices of those who often go unheard. But how much are they really listening to these voices? Reflecting on the US election results, Katy Murray explores the importance of charities harnessing the views of the very people they exist to help.
