Expert Citizens CIC is a Stoke-on-Trent based Community Interest Company (CIC) led by and for people with lived experience of multiple disadvantages, such as homelessness, mental ill-health, addiction, domestic abuse, poverty, and criminal justice.

We are peer advocates and consultants who utilise our personal experiences and those of our members, to shape, improve, and challenge public services. 

Key aspects of what they do include:

• Service Evaluation (INSIGHT Standards): We train individuals with lived experience to evaluate public and charitable services, ensuring they meet the ‘INSIGHT Quality Standards’ for empathy, dignity, and effectiveness.
• Systems Change: We advise commissioners, researchers, and decision-makers to help redesign systems so they work better for the people they serve, rather than operating in ways that isolate or stigmatize vulnerable individuals.
• Expert Citizens community members: We run, fun, community activities including, coffee mornings, trips, micro-volunteering and provide free training and personal development to help people build confidence and transition into volunteering or employment.
• Training: The INSIGHT Academy offers an extensive network of trainers and experts who share co-delivered perspectives to help other organizations build better future support systems.

The INSIGHT Academy is, delivered by Expert Citizens CIC and is part of the Changing Futures Stoke-on-Trent Programme, which sits within Adult Social Care services at Stoke-on-Trent City Council’s. 

The training is fully funded for anyone living and/or working in the Stoke-on-Trent area and available at a nominal charge for anyone from outside of Stoke-on-Trent. All our training is co-designed and co-delivered through lived experience. We also offer people with lived experience the chance to become trainers themselves with our train the trainer programme.

 If you are a Tutor, Trainer or Facilitator wishing to work with us please click here – https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=_nlDi9OpCECfVcsMFkI3jopfxtW88IdDnm7zHjL4v-tUMTB…

We are peer advocates and consultants who utilise our personal experiences and the voices of our members, to shape, improve, and challenge public services. We advise commissioners, researchers, and decision-makers to help redesign systems, so they work better for the people they serve, rather than operating in ways that isolate or stigmatize vulnerable individuals.  We undertake co-produced, commissioned and externally funded projects, research, and evaluations.

We train individuals with lived experience to evaluate public and charitable services, ensuring they meet the ‘INSIGHT Quality Standards’ framework.

The INSIGHT Academy offers an extensive network of trainers and experts who share co-delivered perspectives to help other organizations build better future support systems.

If you represent a lived experience organisation and like to work with Expert Citizens, please email: info@expertcitizens.org.uk for more information.