Co-designing a Lived Experience Network to support family-centred service delivery
In 2019, the South Australian Government’s Department of Human Services (DHS) engaged Think Human and Dana Shen (DS Consultancy) to partner with the Department, the sector and most importantly, with families, to co-design a new Child and Family Support System with the community services sector and community members.
A core foundation of our approach was to engage effectively and authentically with families with lived experience. These families acted as ‘system advisors’, providing advice and support to guide the development of the system, to improve it for others.
Following the initial co-design work to develop the Child and Family Support System, our Director Mel and Dana continued to work with DHS and families to co-design a Lived Experience Network (the LEN). Families engaged and co-designed with us throughout 2020, involving a steep learning curve for everyone involved in using Zoom and building trust and rapport online.
The LEN continues to support and advise the Child and Family Support System as well as modelling what deep, genuine partnership with communities can look like and achieve. In 2023 Mel worked with the new LEN membership to review and refine their principles, values and ways of working to ensure everyone is enabled to participate safely from a place of strength and experience.
Working alongside Mel was a really rich learning experience for me as a group facilitator. I was inspired by the way Mel was able to convey her compassion for group members along with keeping them on track to complete the tasks they were given. Mel skilfully provided safety for members to express their diverse views and ensured the wellbeing of the group as a whole. The work was outcomes driven and the process was kind and respectful
Paula McKenzie Brown, LEN Coordinator, Department of Human Services
