The Activating Lived Experience Leadership (ALEL) Project

At the ALEL Launch Event a ‘Strategic Partnership’ between LELAN and the Fay Fuller Foundation was announced.

The strategic partnership between LELAN and the Foundation will see us working together to influence broad systems change that enables lived experience leadership to thrive, and to support LELAN in their role as the peak body for lived experience leadership in South Australia [Niall Fay, Chief Executive Officer of the Fay Fuller Foundation].

Whilst this partnership is not a funding extension for the ALEL Project it does increase LELAN’s capacity to advocate for lived experience led systems change and support the implementation of Key Action areas identified through ALEL.

The national survey is seeking to understand more about how to define lived experience leadership, the different roles that leaders take on, the conditions and supports that help with influence and change and the learning resources that help leaders.

The survey can be accessed here.

Individual interviews with fourteen system and sector leaders were held via Zoom. The main areas of inquiry related to: what lived experience leadership is; the values, qualities and skills of lived experience leaders; systemic challenges and barriers for lived experience; places for lived experience leadership to occur; and what lived experience needs to thrive and have impact.

Early Research Findings can be accessed here.

The Systems Change: Lived Experience Considerations and Opportunities workshop created a lot of interest with registrations being closed early with forty-eight people on the list. The session provided a platform to explore the necessity for and role of lived experience in systems change. It was based on the premise that a collaborative, cross-sector and multi-level approach is the best way to tackle these challenges and our commitment to increasing knowledge, skill and action in this space.

Summit participants used the Six Conditions of Systems Change model to unpack the key factors that reinforce current conditions and hinder progress for lived experience. A Summary Report articulates these themes and the Summit’s three key recommendations: the need to better articulate the value and evidence base surrounding lived experience; the creation of a Community of Practice for Lived Experience Leadership & Change; and the need for a Lived Experience Strategic Framework in SA.

A Summary Report for the Summit can be accessed here.

The Project Advisory group (PAG) guides the design of the research project, analysis of themes and findings and advises on the community development components of the project focused on activating lived experience networks and engaging service leaders in conversations about lived experience advocacy and systems change in SA. The PAG has seven lived experience members and five service members, including a Peer Worker.