Nothing About Us, Without Us: Lived Experience at the Heart of Community Development

Rachael Donovan, PJ Humphreys, Jody Blackburn, Ana Greenfield, Kim Romanova, Ian Campbell and Athena Lathouras

Introduction

Community development is widely seen as both a citizen-led and professional practice that supports groups of people to connect and work together around common areas of concern in their communities (Kelly & Westoby, 2018). It is grounded in human rights, social justice, selfdetermination and inclusion frameworks and considers people (rather than professionals􀀌 to be experts in their own lives and communities. Thus, processes are driven by the voices, needs and concerns of community members which can increase their sense of personal agency, leadership and self-empowerment (Kenny & Connors, 2017).

The lived experience inclusion movement is growing across several sectors, including mental health, disability, gender equity, addictions and substance misuse, LGBTIQ+ rights, refugee and migration and homelessness and housing. Lived experience inclusion refers to actively incorporating the perspectives, insights and expertise of individuals who have direct personal experience with a particular issue or identity. Incorporating lived experience in policy-making and social advocacy has been shown to enhance empathy, break down stigma and stereotypes, improve decision-making processes and increase the effectiveness of solutions.