A Matter of Trust

Abstract

Recent years have seen an increasing role for service users in all aspects of planning and managing provision. This has latterly extended to the areas of research and development. As a result, the nature of the research relationship has changed, with leadership passing to a greater or lesser degree into the hands of those who were previously seen as taking a rather passive role, as service users or research subjects. This article draws on a particular experience of collaboration between an organization of people with learning difficulties and an external researcher, to explore some of the challenges involved in negotiating this relationship in practice. In particular, the aim is to clarify the extent to which it is possible to bring a constructively critical perspective to bear, so that issues of quality and validity can be addressed within a framework which ensures that service users retain control of the process. The article concludes that the concept of `critical friend' is helpful in clarifying the role of the external `expert'.