The main aim of the business is to promote disability rights, involvement and inclusion of disabled people by providing lived experience of the impact of society on disabled people’s lives and to promote disability rights. Our staff and service users are involved with working with local universities, in delivering disability equality training, communication skills teaching and participating in decision making processes about potential new students. We have also worked with research partners to inform their policies and help to develop their research proposals in relation to involving patients and public contributors. We have also provided support around research impact and dissemination, and links between researchers, the voluntary sector and service users. We continue to develop and expanding our Business Partners as well as the range of work that we are involved in. We work with Sunderland University and New College Durham, supporting their Social Work Degree Programs. These Partnerships have been developed and evolved further through Involved and Equal CIC in the last year. Involved and Equal CIC now also work in partnership with The Open University, supporting their Social Work Programmes. In addition, we work with The National Institute in Health and Social Care Research (NIHR) through the North East and North Cumbria Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) and with Durham University, engaging with Local and National Health Inequality Research Projects, as well as training Researchers in Disability Equality and Inclusion Best Practices. We have worked with many student social workers this year and this is an important aspect of Social Work programmes aims and objectives. Involved and equal CIC are actively involved from the point of admission, bringing lived experience to inform active participation in decision making about potential new students coming on the programme. Once on the programme students then have opportunities to learn from the lived experience and perspective of service users and carers. As part of this Involved and Equal CIC deliver a powerful and thought-provoking session in which the combination of personal perspective, knowledge of disability rights and advocacy prompts students to think deeply about the impact of disability and to reflect on how they as practitioners may be part of a more informed and inclusive understanding of disability, and to empathise with the lived experience of those whose lives have been impacted by disability. The involvement influences the students and ultimately qualified Social Workers in their interaction and involvement with disabled people and their carers.

Involved and Equal CIC regularly informally consult our organisation Stakeholders: University of Sunderland, New College Durham, The Open University, Durham University, and the National Institute for Health and Social Care Research (NIHR), using evaluation forms and informal consultation and, as a matter of course, as our sessions are often designed to meet the requests of the client. Involved and Equal CIC have continued to provide the services they require and have updated and tailored training and service user involvement via lived experience to enable the stakeholders to provide their statutory requirements and to enhance the teaching and experience of their students and staff. Our stakeholders include those within the community who are disabled people their families and/or support networks. We are currently building up our contacts with these stakeholders and will be able to better consult with them in the future about the impact of our services. In addition, we consult our Business Partners regarding any new ways of involving community Stakeholders to be able to share their Lived Experiences. An example being, as a result of holding discussions with various partners we are ready to create Podcasts as a way of reaching a wider audience and involving more disabled service users.

No remuneration was received

No transfer of assets other than for full consideration