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Lived Experience Programme 2021/22

Lived Experience Programme 2021/22

It is well demonstrated that the meaningful involvement of those with lived experience is crucial at all levels of service delivery, policy and legislation formation, research, and civil society discussion and debate.

GambleAware is keen to ensure that the early intervention and treatment services commissioned are what people want and need, and are effective in preventing and reducing gambling harms; ensuring the voice of people with lived experience is heard is key to that.

There are two strands of work in GambleAware’s ongoing Lived Experience Programme:

Enabling the creation of an inclusive GB-wide membership network for all who have experienced gambling harms.
Supporting the initial development phase of a special interest group for people who have been through treatment for their own gambling harms.

Inclusive GB-wide Membership Network

At the moment, there is no single, inclusive network which is representative of all people with lived experience of gambling harms across GB. To address this we have to date:

  • Commissioned and published a short evidence review to identify ‘what works’ in developing engagement infrastructure in other sectors, which the gambling sector could potentially learn from. This research by Kings College London, entitled: Exploring “What Works” In Creating Infrastructures and Engagement Methods For People With Lived Experience within Public Health, Health and Social Care and Addiction Research was published in the Summer of 2020.
  • Hosted a webinar on Lived Experience of Gambling Harms on 28 August 2020 which discussed the key findings from the research by Kings College London. This can be viewed online here.
  • Published guidelines for engaging and involving people with lived experience of gambling harms in research and evaluation, which can be viewed here.
  • Held a recruitment process for people who have direct lived experience of gambling harms, are an ‘affected other’, or identify as both, to assist in assessing and scoring bids for a tender to award a contract. The work is for the design and establishment of an inclusive GB-wide network of people with lived experience of gambling harms. The process has now closed.
  • Once formed, the network will be entirely independent, determining its own priorities and governance arrangements. It will develop sufficient capacity, resource and membership to meaningfully participate and influence national debate and policy making.

Special Interest Group

This group is being established as the parallel governance structure to the National Clinician’s Network Forum which is part of the National Gambling Treatment Service (NGTS). It is for people who have experienced harms associated with gambling and/or gambling disorder who have been in treatment. The group will meet on a regular basis and will be attended by those who have lived experience from across a range of treatment providers. Its longer-term aims are broad and will be shaped by the membership; initial priorities are to:

  • Increase access to treatment services by identifying potential barriers to access
  • Increase the diversity and representativeness of people accessing treatment services
  • Improve links between treatment services and other parts of the system
  • Play a clear role in the scrutiny and accountability mechanisms for the National Clinician’s Network Forum.

This is a specific interest group. If you have been through treatment, and would like more information about taking part, please email contact@gambleaware.org, and your inquiry will be forwarded to the group (prior to establishment of their own inbox).