This year’s ‘Commissioning for the Future’ conference felt different to me. I have spent years turning up in co-production spaces sometimes feeling like I was trying to convince people why lived experience even needed to be in the room. It could feel tiring and lonely at times always explaining myself and hoping the system might shift just a bit. But this year felt like the moment where all that persistence finally landed. It felt like people were not only ready to hear lived experience but ready to work with it.
Walking into the conference as someone with lived experience felt important because it meant I was not speaking in theory. I was speaking from the reality of what these systems actually feel like when you are navigating them. That alone shifted the whole energy for me. Instead of offering opinions I was offering truth. And that truth seemed to land in a way it has not always done in commissioning spaces.
There were moments that really stayed with me. After the keynote someone came up to me and said hearing lived experience woven into the anti-racism conversation made them realise the emotional toll behind it. I felt genuinely moved because it meant the room was connecting not just listening. During the workshops I saw people wanting to understand how lived experience commissioners can shape decisions rather than simply comment on them. That made me feel hopeful in a way I am not used to feeling at events like this.
Even the simple interactions mattered. Co-chairing with Mike reminded me of how much easier it is to speak openly when you feel supported. Having Paula working behind the scenes and Clenton, Rich and Fi, from the National Co-production Advisory Group and Think Local Act Personal, around on the day gave me a sense of safety that meant I could show up as myself rather than shrink down to fit expectations. That made a huge difference to how I experienced the event. I felt seen and held and that is not always the case for people with lived experience in these spaces.
The keynote with Hania Tayara felt powerful because it was grounded in our lived realities not just professional language. We spoke about allyship as something you practise through the messy uncomfortable moments, and I felt the room understanding that anti-racism cannot be an optional extra. It needs to live inside commissioning decisions every step of the way.
One moment that really hit me was when a parent shared that they had never met a commissioner despite years of navigating services with their son who has limited speech. That reminded me exactly why it is so important for people with lived experience to be in the room. If commissioners don’t do everything they can to be accessible and spend time with the people services are being designed for, how can we expect decisions to truly reflect what matters to people?
This year felt like a turning point. A year where co-production stopped feeling like something I had to constantly justify and instead felt like something people genuinely wanted to work with. After so many years of showing up that felt huge.
Here are my top tips for bringing lived experience into commissioning spaces:
- Show up as yourself because real honesty is what changes the room.
- Invest in relationships because co-production only works when trust grows.
- Give space for emotions because lived experience is never neutral.
- Offer real influence not just a seat at the table.
- Keep learning because co-production is always evolving and so are we.
If you want to explore more of the anti-racism work behind this you can find it on the Co-production Collective website.
