News - Helping organisations develop their lived experience communities

Cheshire West Voluntary Action (CWVA) is offering a wide range of support to community sector organisations around lived experience, helping make sure local voices shape the decisions that affect people’s lives.

From January to June 2025, CWVA supported or engaged with 111 people from 26 different organisations around lived experience, equating to nearly 300 hours of support or engagement and almost 180 attendances at meetings, events and support sessions.

As well as offering bespoke, one-to-one support to help community sector organisations develop their lived experience communities, CWVA has run regular workshops to highlight how the Local Voices Framework can be used as best practice for coproduction.

The Local Voices Network, led by CWVA, provides an opportunity for people with lived experience and organisations across sectors to come together and set the future vision for coproduction in Cheshire West.

CWVA is also developing a new Lived Experience Leadership programme, supporting people with lived or living experience to develop personal and professional skills.

The programme has been coproduced with people who have lived or living experience to make sure it achieves the outcomes they need.

The aim is that the personal and professional skills developed through the programme can support people in their lived experience roles, and help them gain volunteering or paid roles in the future.

Tyra Goodwin, Lived Experience Consultant at CWVA, said: “Lived experience, and the support we offer community organisations in this area, is such a key part of our offer at CWVA.

“We want to make sure lived experience and coproduction are embedded in communities and the organisations that provide services in them.

“While CWVA’s support focuses on community sector organisations, we’re also playing an important role in bringing together organisations from across sectors to make sure we’re all working together effectively in this area.

“It’s important we always remember that we shouldn’t make decisions about services or support without listening and working in partnership with the people who need to access them.”

If you’d like to engage with CWVA around its lived experience work, please email: tyra.goodwin@cwva.org.uk.

CWVA has created a new section on its website, highlighting its wide range of work around lived experience.

• Visit the CWVA website