At APLE Collective, we believe that meaningful change only happens when those with lived experiences of poverty and inequality aren’t just invited into the conversation, they help shape the space where those conversations happen. Taking Voice Seriously is about recognising the value, wisdom, and expertise people bring from their lived experiences, and making sure those voices are central to decision-making, policy, and practice.
This page brings together our work on this theme – including resources, research, and our practical toolkit – to help organisations, services, and policymakers root their work in the reality of people’s lives.
At the core of APLE Collective’s work is the need to address knowledge equality. The APLE Collective works hard to address some of the tokenism and tick boxing that has built up around the terms ‘lived experience,’ working with the APPG on Poverty to host in-person and webinar events which seek to share principles for action around how to take lived experience-led voices seriously.
APLE Collective have developed the Taking Voice Seriously campaign, publishing a Taking Voice Seriously Briefing paper, literature review and toolkit which shares the background to equality of voice and sets out key principles for taking voice seriously; recognising the importance of grassroots-led participatory activism, in change-making. APLE Collective members have co-written a chapter of a policy press book, sharing our Taking Voice Seriously expertise. APLE Collective has been developing the Taking Voice Seriously profile, seeking to establish APLE Collective as a specialist centre for lived experience-led knowledge.
Addressing poverty with lived experience means valuing the power of voice, listening, taking action and making change together. Taking Voice Seriously is key to addressing epistemic justice. Taking Voice Seriously builds on the work of APLE Collective, which has demonstrated the participatory imperative behind lived experience activism.
📣 Taking Voice Seriously: A Toolkit for Change
At APLE Collective, we believe lasting change takes root when those with lived experience of poverty lead the conversation. That’s why we’ve created Taking Voice Seriously– a toolkit designed to help organisations, services, and groups embed real participation and amplify the voices of those who matter most.
Whether you’re planting the first seeds of change or tending a thriving orchard of participation, this toolkit is here to help you grow.
Taking Voice Seriously- The value of voice Briefing Paper
This Briefing Paper is APLE Collective’s shared knowledge reflecting our commitment to taking lived experience voices seriously.
Taking Voice Seriously- Literature Review
To truly take voice seriously, we need to understand what it means, in practice, in policy, and in people’s lives. This literature review, written by Dr Katy Goldstraw on behalf of APLE Collective, explores the deeper context behind participation, voice, and lived experience in decision-making.
Taking Voice Seriously- Reply & Response Policy
At APLE Collective, we take voice seriously- not just in what we say, but in how we work. This Reply & Response Policy sets out how we approach invitations, partnerships, and requests to engage with our collective.