Peer research

CLEAR

CLEAR (Community Lived Experience Action Research) is one of the joint programmes in our Health and Human Rights Partnership with Public Health Scotland and the University of Strathclyde. CLEAR supports and promotes the use of peer research to influence change, bringing benefits to peer researchers, communities, and all relevant stakeholders.

Our vision is human rights for all through peer research. Our mission is to use peer research partnerships to positively influence human rights based policy and practice. Our objectives are to:

• Empower people to form an active collective of peer researchers and change influencers to inform influence policy and practice.
• Develop a model of excellence for peer research.
• Provide the infrastructure to support and promote the use of peer research in Scotland to influence changes in policy and practice.

Why peer research?

Peer research is ideal for researchers who are committed to co-developing research with people rather than for people. It enables collaborative working between people and organisations, and focuses on social change that promotes democracy and challenges inequalities. Peer research is context-specific, often targeted on the needs of a particular group, and involves an iterative cycle of research, action and reflection. It can help everyone involved gain a greater awareness of the situation in order to take action.

What CLEAR does

• Peer research projects like “What do you mean I have a right to health?” (see below)
• Advice and consultancy on peer research and human rights – you can download the slides from a February 2021 training session.
• Training, capacity building and ongoing support for peer researchers.
• Talks and presentations to raise awareness and promote peer research.
• Influence policy and practice to ensure peer research and its findings are prioritised.

What do you mean I’ve got a right to health?

While the health of people in Scotland continues to improve, health inequalities persist. To reduce health inequalities we need to act across a range of public policy areas to tackle economic and social inequalities alongside actions with a specific focus on disadvantaged groups and deprived areas. This participatory research on health and human rights was commissioned to empower people affected by health inequalities to find solutions.

The research was undertaken in partnership with the ALLIANCE, the Health and Social Care Academy, Glasgow Homelessness Network,  the Mental Health Foundation, and NHS Heath Scotland. The project builds on the work of Scotland’s National Action Plan for Human Rights (SNAP) and informed the work of the SNAP 1 Health and Social Care Action Group.

Between December 2015 and January 2016, a total of 83 people participated in the research, including 34 people who had experience of homelessness and 49 women with the status of refugees or asylum seekers took part in the research in Glasgow. They were asked to think about what the right to health meant to them, and to reflect on their past experiences of services and health issues.

Links and resources

Read the full research report.

Watch videos about this project.

View a case study of the project, produced for the Scottish Human Rights Commission.

If you want to discuss our peer research work, please contact Lucy Mulvagh, Director of Policy, Research and Impact at lucy.mulvagh@alliance-scotland.org.uk.

End of page.