Lunatic Fringe

For more than 20 years, we have worked successfully to ensure that people who experience mental distress can contribute to service commissioning to influence local mental health strategy through peer-led, community-based research. Changes in funding priorities for NHS England and local commissioners mean it is no longer possible to use this route to ensure that service users’ voices make a genuine difference to service design and delivery. 

We will develop a Living Lab by building on extensive experience and contacts with arts organisations and researchers at The University of Liverpool. This hub will support peer-led research and public engagement about mental distress and community wellbeing, in collaboration with established university-based research groups. 

A key part of the programme will be independent evaluation enabling us to fine-tune the approach to make it sustainable.