18 November 2025
Speaker: Dr Clementine Hill O’Connor (Research Fellow in the Division for Social and Urban Policy at University of Glasgow)
Chair: Professor Cristina Leston-Bandeira (University of Leeds and Chair of IPEN)
Details: In this IPEN seminar, Clementine Hill O’Connor will draw from the findings of her Research Fellowship at the Scottish Parliament to explore the role that ‘lived experience’ plays in parliamentary work, namely in scrutiny processes. By ‘lived experience’ we mean the experience of those directly affected by legislation.
There has been a growth in activity around the methods and approaches that are used to bring a wider variety of people into the work of the Scottish Parliament – a key feature is the role of ‘lived experience’ and the role it plays in scrutiny.
This increased interest in lived experience is mirrored across all levels of government, both national and local, and is an increasingly important component of policymaking processes. It has the potential to address democratic deficits, bringing a more diverse range of perspectives into policymaking, ultimately resulting in decisions that have stronger public support.
It is also understood to bring those directly affected by policy into the process, giving voice to often marginalised group. Understanding the perspectives of those who commission and use evidence from people with lived experience (i.e. the committees) is key to ensuring that it is incorporated in ways that are both effective and ethical.
Clementine will draw on three case studies of processes that incorporated lived experience into the work of Scottish Parliamentary committees and will reflect on lessons learned.
This online seminar will take place in MS Teams and is open to members of the International Parliament Engagement Network (IPEN).
Find out more about the network.
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay