SPARK contribution to Glasgow Workshop on ‘Narratives, Stories and Listening’

Marc Geddes, PI of SPARK, was invited to contribute to a research workshop at the University of Glasgow on the theme of narratives and story-telling in social policy and political science. The workshop explored a wide range of themes, including a range of specific social policy issues as well as how evidence can and is being used in policy processes.

As part of the workshop, Marc presented a ‘lightning talk’ on the concept of ‘lived experience’ and specifically how it has been defined and used in the UK House of Commons. As part of Marc’s presentation, he gave a summary of the growing prominence of ‘lived experience’ as a term in parliamentary language, and the value that many MPs attach to this kind of knowledge. However, Marc also noted that there are challenges in its use, including around representativeness, tokenism and tension with other modes of knowing.

Marc’s presentation draws on continuing research in SPARK on different kinds of knowledge, and also drew on his previous report published by the University of Edinburgh on how select committees gather and use ‘evidence’ for scrutinising the UK government. You can read the full report – including a section on ‘lived experience’ – here.

The role of ‘lived experience’ (or ‘experiential knowledge’) is going to be one of three modes of knowing being explored in the SPARK research project, the other two being ‘expert knowledge’ and the other ‘practical knowledge’. While SPARK is at an early stage, this workshop in Glasgow was an excellent opportunity for feedback and Marc is grateful to have had the opportunity to discuss the topic with colleagues.

Image: The Cloisters, University of Glasgow. Photo by Johnny Briggs on Unsplash