Social Security Experience Panels: legacy report - visual summary

Reflections and Learnings

Across the evidence review, interviews and feedback survey, several learnings have been identified.

Reflections on sampling of panel members

As the Experience Panels required voluntary input from panel members, it was by necessity a self-selecting group of research participants.

Some people involved in the legacy research regarded this as a positive because it meant panel members were taking part because they wanted to voluntarily share their experiences.

Others appreciated that having a ready resource of people willing to participate allowed them to shorten the recruitment phase for their research.

However, some highlighted that panel members could volunteer repeatedly for different research activities, which could lead to a few individuals having disproportionate input to research and their views being overrepresented.

Importance of building trust

The Experience Panels team felt that it was important to take the time to build trust with panel members.

Sensitive personal data was collected gradually so that panel members felt comfortable with the researchers. Many panel members reported that they felt comfortable with the researchers and felt they could be open.

Offering multiple ways to participate

Some feedback survey respondents said that being able to participate by phone or video meant they were able to take part more easily, whereas others said that in-person research was important to them.

Managing expectations of panel members

Some panel members expressed disappointment that some of their suggestions had not been implemented. It is important to carefully manage the expectations of panel members, and to make clear that there are other factors involved in decision making, alongside research.

Feeding back to panel members

A recurring challenge throughout the research for the report was identifying how the data produced from the Experience Panels had fed into the decision-making process.

This was also a factor identified by panel members in the feedback survey. Many respondents commented that they wanted to know more about how the research was used and what the impact had been.

For future research, establishing clear steps to document how research findings are being used and their role within decision-making processes would be advisable. This would also allow more transparency when communicating with research participants about how their contributions have been used.

Importance of culture around social security

Findings repeatedly highlighted that an important impact of the Experience Panels was the creation of a culture that embodies dignity, fairness and respect, and that the Experience Panels set a high standard for how participatory research and service development should be done.