In December 2020, with Support from our CASCADE Involvement Board and Health and Care Research Wales infrastructure funding, we began building a Parent’s Research Advisory Group.

This group has proved invaluable in helping to direct, translate and disseminate research done at CASCADE. Their experience of children’s social care as parents, and commitment to the group is vital to ensuring the work we do is able to make a positive difference to the lives of others.

We are very grateful to the amazing parents that contribute to our group. We offer Research Methods training to all members to support their feedback and contribution to our research. We also provide remuneration for their time and cover expenses in line with Public Involvement standards devised by HCRW.

We aim to continue to develop this work and create a network of parents with lived experience of children social care to engage or get involved in a range of ways that best suit them. We are committed to providing opportunities for those that would like to contribute in a meaningful way and developing the skills needed to share their voice, collaborate and engage in research.

With the help of Swansea Music Arts Digital the parents created this short video to develop their digital skills and share their experiences of the group:

Among other things, the Parent’s Research Advisory Group has:

  • Contributed to research on Family Group Conferences.
  • Developed a teaching resource for Student social workers to get them to think about how things feel for families, with Dr Louise Roberts.
  • Part of a successful research grant with Dr Clive Diaz on Peer Parental Advocacy (in Camden), where we’ve also supported the research team on things to consider when conducting research interviews.
  • Supported the development of a second bid with Dr Clive Diaz on Peer parental advocacy this time in Wales. (Still waiting on the status of this)
  • Worked with CASCADE Centre Director Prof Donald Forrester and Sophie Wood to highlight a range of priority areas for CASCADE’s future research development.

Contact us

To enquire about our groups, costs and services as a member of the public, charity or researcher, please contact: Vaughanr5@cardiff.ac.uk or Lambertpw@cardiff.ac.uk

Our Involvement work is based on the definitions, principles and guidance in the Public Involvement Standards developed by Health Care Research Wales. For further information, please follow this link: https://healthandcareresearchwales.org/public-help-research/uk-standards-public-involvement