In recognition of Co-Production week we held an event in The Devenish Complex Belfast.

The event was organised by members of our User Forum who have been working since February to plan the day and compered by User Forum member, Girvan.  The theme was Impact and Influence and we explored this by reflecting on User Forum activity over the past year. 

Linda Craig from the Public Health Agency (PHA) spoke about how the shared lived experiences of service users directly informs how health and social care services in Northern Ireland are sha[ed.  She discussed the 10,000 More Voices project that the Forum have been heavily involved in and the progress the project has made since its initiation. 

User Forum member Stefan Hughes made an impactful contribution by speaking about the inconsiderate parking campaign produced by Ards and North Down Borough Council in partnership with their over 50’s Council and the Disability Forum.  Stefan stars in the video, and in addition reviewed the first draft of the video in his User Forum role. During this consultative stage he suggested improvements which we are pleased to see in the final version which you can access here: Considerate Parking Campaign - Ards and North Down Borough Council 

Rebecca Taylor, PHD Researcher with Ulster University, spoke about her Cerebral Palsy and pain management research and the support that she has received form the Forum to undertake this work. She also discussed what would be coming next and the potential the forums influence will have on positive impact for future research. 

Dr Ellen Henderson from Ulster University added to the academic contributions by speaking about her work, Ending the Silence: The Impact and Influence of Inclusive Pain Research.  Ellen discussed the purpose of this research and thanked the Forum for their support with exploring pain in young people with autism, down syndrome or a learning disability.

Finally, our Chief Executive Elaine Armstrong spoke about Cedar and the work of the Forum and thanked them for all their hard work in all levels of the organisation. This is a special year for Cedar as we are celebrating 85 years of service.  However, it is also a significant milestone for the User Forum as it is celebrating 25 Years of impact and influence in Cedar. 

The Forum started in 2001 with a single group representing services users across NI. We have now evolved to seven Forums across the region.  The User Forum operates under three principles, Involve, Influence, and Recruit.  In the last year the User forum responded to 38 external consultations, 13 internal consultations and actively participated in 33% of interview panels in Cedar.  In addition, they have been involved in creating Easy Read Documents, and have been working with Senior Managers to review our current strategy and agree the new 2026 – 2031 Strategic Plan.

After a beautiful lunch and celebratory cake time was dedicated to developing a plan for the Forum in the upcoming year. We want to thank all of our Forum members for the dedication and time that they give to the Forum and we want to give special thanks to our co-production event planning team Caron, Gemma and Girvan.