User Panels

Brief Description:

User Panels are regular meetings of service users about the quality of a service or other related topics. They help to identify the concerns and priorities of service users and can lead to the early identification of problems or ideas for improvements.
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Description:

User Panels usually take the form of a workshop and it is important to outline a clear purpose and the time required for participants' involvement right from the beginning.
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There also needs to be very clear lines of feedback between the Panel members and the decision-makers.
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Used For:

Getting users' views on their experiences and expectations of services and testing their reaction to changes and proposals.
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It can also be used to find and generate ideas for improvements.
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Suitable participants:

A User Panel should be relatively small to allow quality interaction between participants. Some organisations recruit a large pool of users so that they can draw out smaller groups to be consulted on a particular issue.
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These groups can be targeted to reflect certain subgroups of users, such as people with disabilities, or ethnic minorities- it is best to include a diverse range of users in the Panel.
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Panel members should not remain on the panel indefinitely, after a while participants tend to become too knowledgeable about the service delivery organisation and may come to identify with it and so lose credibility with other users.
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Cost:

The Panel needs to be facilitated in a neutral way and Panel members should at least receive their expenses. Arranging free transport to and from meetings can be appropriate, especially if the service users are the elderly or health care users.
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It is hard to assess the costs of running a Panel as it depends greatly on whether or not you have in-house facilitation skills, where the groups meets, how large it is and how often it meets.
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Time Requirements:

User Panels are usually ongoing (with participants being replaced as time goes on). A member of staff will need to provide support for the Panel.
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The accountability and credibility of the Panel can be increased if you allow time for representatives to refer back to wider user groups.
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When To Use / What It Can Deliver:

You should use User panels when you are working with people who are not usually heard, for example those with learning disabilities, children, and the elderly, when you want to establish a two-way dialogue between service providers and users, when you want to set up a sounding board for new approaches or proposals relating to services, and finally as a way of identifying emerging problems.
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User Panels can deliver the user perspective, a sounding board on which to test plans and ideas, relatively quick feedback and continuing dialogue with users.
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When Not To Use / What It Cannot Deliver:

You should not use User panels when service providers and planners do not support the work and are unwilling to provide feedback or using user panels as the only way of getting user feedback.
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The panels will not deliver statistical information
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Strengths:

• Changes can be tracked over time;
• Most people can participate with the help of interpreters;
• Solution focused;
• The Panel members are well informed on the issues.

Weaknesses:

• Time consuming/long-term commitment;
• The Panel is not necessarily representative;
• A small number of people may dominate the group;
• May not take into account relevant needs of non-users of services.

Origin:

Market research
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The panels have evolved from tools like focus groups and the spread of policy targets, such as 'Best Value', has increased the appreciation of the benefits of getting users involved in the planning and delivery of the services they use.
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Case Studies:

• Active Lives in Kent (CaseStudies)
• Glasgow Women's Library (CaseStudies)

Related Methods

Restrictions In Use

Further Information

Contact:
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Market & Opinion Research International (MORI)
MORI House
79-81 Borough Road
London, SE1 1FY
Telephone: 020 7347 3000
Fax: 020 7347 3800
Email: mori@mori.com
Web: http://www.mori.com

Popular Methods

21st Century Town Meeting

Citizens Jury

Deliberative Polling

Open Space

Participatory Appraisal

Participatory Budgeting

Webcasting