Lived Experience Advisory Partnerships (LEAPs)

This short guide explains what a LEAP is, why it can be useful, and what to think about before setting one up.

What is a LEAP?

A LEAP is a small group of local people (max 10) who share relevant lived experience and bring their own perspectives.

LEAPs should be built on trust and collaboration, and groups are encouraged to choose a name to help create a sense of identity and belonging.

Why use LEAP?

LEAP members are experts by experience. Working with them can help your team to:

• Better understand how services are experienced in real life
• Hear honest feedback about what works and what does not
• Design materials and resources that are clear and accessible
• Engage communities in a more meaningful and respectful way

By involving people with lived experience, you are more likely to develop solutions that are practical, effective, and sustainable.

What can a LEAP support?

A LEAP can be involved in many types of work, including:

• Research and evaluation
  LEAP members can help shape questions, advise on respectful ways to gather feedback, reach people who are often overlooked, and help explain findings in clear and meaningful ways. This can lead to more accurate insights and better decision making.
• Policy development and review
  When developing or reviewing policies, hearing directly from those affected helps ensure policies are realistic, relevant, and informed by real experiences.
• Service design and improvement
  LEAP members can provide valuable feedback on how services work in practice, helping to improve accessibility, effectiveness, and compassion. Their involvement can also help raise awareness of services and share learning more widely.
• Changes to services and infrastructure
  Involving people with lived experience helps teams understand how planned changes may affect people in real life, including impacts that may not have been previously considered.

This is not an exhaustive list, and teams are encouraged to be creative in how they work with their LEAP .

Do we have the capacity to run a LEAP?

A LEAP is an active partnership, not a one-off consultation. While this way of working can be very rewarding, it requires time, planning, and ongoing support. And, as LEAPs consist of those with lived experience on often challenging topics, careful consideration is required to ensure that needs are accommodated and best practice is implemented.

Before setting up a LEAP, it is important to consider the following:

• Will LEAP members have genuine influence?
  Is there real space for them to shape decisions and outcomes? Can you show how their input is used?
• Is there a clear timeframe?
  Have you identified key stages, and planned enough meetings or activities to support meaningful involvement?
• Can roles be agreed and adapted together?
  Will members be able to co‑design their roles, and can these change as the partnership develops?
• Are there opportunities for reflection and feedback?
  Can the group regularly discuss what is working well and what could be improved, and will your team respond openly?
• Is there a plan to check in on how the partnership is working?
  Are you able to gather ongoing feedback and make changes where needed?
• How will LEAP members be recognised and rewarded?
  Members should be fairly recognised for their time and expertise. Is there a budget for this, and can you offer additional
  benefits such as training or development opportunities?

Being honest about your team’s capacity helps ensure relationships are built on trust and the partnership is sustainable.

Get in touch

For further guidance please contact participation@somerset.gov.uk.

Recruitment

These resources can help you advertise opportunities, explain what participation involves, and support people through the onboarding process.

Below is an example of an advert you could use to help you recruit for, and onboard, your LEAP. It contains a clear call for community members, information about the purpose and goals, a group overview and space to include your contact details.

Meetings and facilitation

These resources include examples of working together agreements, session plans and guidance to help create a safe and supportive environment for everyone involved

Below is a session plan and template example for ‘Working Together Principles’. This was used during our Breaking Barriers LEAP to help guide and create a group agreement on the culture and approach of the partnership.

We have also included additional resources to help maintain a trauma-informed and accessible approach throughout your partnership.

GOV.UK Health Adjustment Passports (including Easy Read version)

Our Distress Protocol template can be adapted to help you prepare for sensitive conversations and ensure participants and facilitators receive appropriate support if distress occurs.

Our Layers of Community Participation guidance explains different approaches to involving communities, from consultation through to co-production and community-led activity.

For most LEAPs, we recommend using the Stronger Together Scorecard and Spider Diagram. These tools can help you:

• Understand how participation is working for everyone involved.
• Identify strengths and opportunities for improvement.
• Reflect on how different levels of participation are being applied across your work.

A version of the Stronger Together Scorecard is available below. If you would like the interactive version, please contact Participation@somerset.gov.uk.

These resources provide guidance on rewarding public contributors, including local HDRC Somerset guidance and national NIHR policy.

• HDRC Somerset Recognition and Rewards Guidelines May 2026 – Please contact us for this.
• National Institude for Health Research (NIHR) Renumeration Policy for Public Contributors