Increasingly, user involvement and consultation are becoming part of everyday work. So, they are not unusual or special anymore. But are they more effective? Are they really integral to policy and service development or still an appendix? If we are honest, too often words such as "tokenistic" and "half-hearted" might fit all too snugly for our comfort.

But what about user involvement and consultation that have been taken seriously and have been invested with much time, resources and commitment? Even here there is a standard design flaw.

Mike Wood, planning and partnerships officer with Staffordshire social services department, says: "In practice, user involvement and consultation are invariably directed, if not controlled, by non-disabled people who are employed, or commissioned, by statutory agencies."

He continues: "In fact, commissioners and researchers themselves retain a position of power and authority over the research process and users will seldom feel empowered by consultation or involvement. And what is more, it is also likely that research findings will be interpreted from non-disabled perspectives and that this may reduce their validity further."

To challenge this, in February 2001 Staffordshire's welfare to work joint investment plan (JIP) steering group entered into a partnership with the centre for health policy and practice, school of health, Staffordshire University. The partnership graduated three months later with the setting up of the "consumers as researchers" course at the university, teaching research skills for disabled people living in Staffordshire.

The course - made up of 10 sessions - first kicked off with eight students whose disabilities included physical disabilities, sensory impairments and mental health needs. And they rose to the task according to student Joan Monkman: "There are a lot of people out there who have these life skills and it was very good that they could be brought together under one roof." Fellow student Helen Burrell agrees: "It's all about doing it for ourselves and not others doing what they think is best."

The sessions included designing the research study, putting together questionnaires, interviewing skills, carrying out the research, and compiling results.

The students worked on proposals for research on disability and employment based on what they believed to be the most important areas. They focused particularly on identifying barriers to employment and solutions for overcoming or reducing these.

"The students were paid an hourly rate (plus expenses) for their work and some have been successful in securing longer-term employment," says Wood.

Their research is to be published later this year, but they have already presented their findings at a conference - attended by about 70 people - in October 2002. The welfare to work JIP steering group -Êwhich includes various local employers such as social services, health services, Job Centre Plus, Learning and Skills Council, Connexions and voluntary sector organisations - intend to use the findings to dislodge the barriers to employment for disabled people in their own workplaces. It is hoped that other employers in Staffordshire will recognise that the findings are uniquely from a disabled person's perspective and follow suit.

The disabled students controlled the entire research process and decided research priorities and methods, selecting the sample, carrying out the survey and compiling and presenting the results.

And the scheme can proudly tick the box that asks whether this is more than just a tokenistic gesture, as a new group of students began in November 2002 to build on the research and carry out new surveys. Being half-hearted is not open to question.

As Burrell says: "A disabled person who is totally dependent on equipment, so long as they have a computer and modem could either become a researcher or be researched - the only limitations are in other people's minds and agendas."

For more information contact Mike Wood on mike.wood@staffordshire.gov.uk

BACKGROUND

Scheme: Consumers as researchers

Location: Staffordshire

Staffing: Five tutors

Inspiration: Reflecting on ways to improve user consultation

Cost: £17,000 for the first student group, increased to £20,000 for the group starting in November 2002 (this does not include the cost of tutors' time).