Lived Experiences

Poverty2Solutions advocates for a Participatory Policy Making approach where people with lived experience of poverty play an active and influential role in policy design to ensure better outcomes.

For too long, policy making has been something that is done to people, rather than developed in collaboration with people. 

This approach has left many communities feeling powerless to influence the policy decisions that affect their daily lives. We know that the voices of those with lived experiences of poverty is the missing piece from effective policy making.

What is lived experience?

According to the Cambridge Dictionary, lived experience is defined as:

Lived experience
noun
/ˌlɪvd ɪkˈspɪə.ri.əns/ 

“The things that someone has experienced themselves, especially when these give the person a knowledge or understanding that people who have only heard about such experiences do not have.”

Why are lived experiences important?

We live in a society where poverty rates are high, and with extreme levels of inequality. More than one in five of the UK population (14.4 million people) currently live in poverty. This includes 8.1 million working-age adults, 4.2 million children and 2.1 million pensioners. Poverty rates have returned to around their pre-pandemic levels, as middle-income household incomes rose at the same time as a range of temporary coronavirus-related support was withdrawn. (JRF - UK Poverty 2024)

This is simply unacceptable. Urgent action is needed, and the direct involvement of people with recent experiences of poverty and social security in decision making needs to form part of the solution. Policy makers need to tap into the the benefits of involving lived experiences within policy making:

  1. Firsthand insight: The issues affecting those living in poverty are complex. Statistics, numbers and data alone limit our understanding of the barriers that exist to reducing inequality. People who have lived experiences can offer insights into issues that are often overlooked.

  2. Grounded solutions: These insights can highlight practical, actionable solutions that are informed by direct experience of what has or hasn’t worked in policy making to date. This can help create policies that are not just based in theory, but grounded in lived reality.

  3. Avoiding assumptions: Decision makers can make assumptions about those living in poverty that don’t often reflect reality. Involving those with lived experiences helps challenge and correct these assumptions, leading to more accurate and relevant changes in policy.

  4. Trust building: Policies that include the voices of those with lived experiences are more likely to be seen as credible and accepted by those they aim to help. When people see that their perspective is valued and reflected accurately, it can help to build trust.

  5. Real understanding: Poverty is not just a lack of income but involves lots of dimensions like access to healthcare, education and services. Those with lived experiences can offer a well-rounded view of how these factors intersect and impact their lives.

What is Participatory Policy Making?

Participatory policy making happens when ordinary citizens play an active role in the policy making process. People on the sharp end of policy decisions have crucial insights that are often missing from policy debate and formation. Understanding this lived experience leads to fairer policies, more effective policies, and increases the legitimacy and ownership of policies.

Missed opportunities

There are so many issues affecting people living in poverty that could be ameliorated or even resolved if policy makers worked effectively with those that have direct lived experiences. From the UK Governments Covid response to the replacement of Free School Meals with vouchers, there are many examples where direct engagement of people with lived experiences could have led to better policy decisions, stemming rather than increasing inequality

One of the issues Poverty2Solutions is focusing on is the issue of Universal credit and debt deductions

Our research

Over the past year, we’ve been seeking out examples of participatory policymaking at the national and regional levels.

A Summary of Collaborating for Change: Searching for evidence of good practice in participatory policy making is to be released soon.