The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) are pleased to be supporting the award-winning Poverty2Solutions and would like to invite you to the launch event for their short film: Through the eyes and values of lived experiences: Listen up to level up.

This will be a unique opportunity to view the premiere of the Poverty2Solutions short film prior to its launch on social media and learn more about a number of high-profile projects that have successfully applied participatory approaches to their work.

This lively and engaging event will offer a fantastic opportunity to bring a balance of lived experiences, civil service, charity allies and local council to debate the value and key principles associated with adopting a participatory approach to policy-making.

There is a growing recognition that people who have direct experience of policies have the skills, expertise and insight that can be harnessed to improve and develop more effective solutions for change. Harnessing this insight, respecting and valuing this knowledge and committing to long term collaborative working practices forms the basis of participatory policy-making processes.

Participatory practice amplifies the voice of people living in communities and re-builds trust by working together to identify, develop and decide directly on policy proposals. If applied correctly, it has the power to meet the commitment to ’Levelling up’ left behind communities. The asymmetric impact of the pandemic has only raised the salience of the stark inequalities between different places in Britain and there is a risk of levelling up becoming a top-down process, where the voices of people in affected communities are not sufficiently listened to on what kind of changes they want.

We look forward to seeing you at this event for a discussion on how we further develop participatory policy-making practices ensuring the voice of lived experience influences the debate.