The LGBTQ+ carers Project

About the project

Impactful social care research that achieves to influence policy and practice needs to draw upon and be informed by the very social groups it wishes to benefit. 

There is a gap in a resource for co-productions in research and practice when it comes to LGBTQ+ people, and especially when these are unpaid carers – this is a unique challenge because current best practice indicates that the carer and the person cared for need to be perceived and considered as a unit. Therefore researchers and policy makers need to consider intersectional impacts and implications, that reflect the needs of the LGBTQ+ person and that of the person they care for, who may or may not be LGBTQ+, too. 

The leadership of LGBTQ+ individuals and communities in research, policy and practice that concerns those being impacted upon is vital.  This project aims to address a gap in the resources available to support co-production in research and practice.  Its focus is on the vital role of unpaid carers as equal partners in developing research that addresses how to provide more  tailored support.  Our philosophy aims to take account of the many different identities held by LGBTQ+ unpaid carers and to capitalise on the assets, knowledge and skills that they bring to caring and how best to improve it.

The development of the toolkit will involve developing processes and outcomes in relation to:

• Community engagement and consultation

• Identifying and building capacity for research collaboration

• Resources for training, supervision and support of LGBTQ+ unpaid carers;

• Peer networking and peer support

• Evaluation and capturing best practices

• Community knowledge exchange

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