Designing Co-Design Research That Matters: Balancing Community Priorities and Research Credibility with the Participatory Research to Action (PR2A) Framework

Background: Co-design is increasingly recognized as a global standard for meaningful health services research with end-users. Yet, the scientific community working on integrated care lacks a unified definition of co-design that balances methodological rigor (e.g., replicability, transparency) with community priorities (e.g., creativity, adaptability). This gap often leaves researchers under-equipped to clearly articulate their participatory designs—especially when seeking funding, where clarity and structure are essential.

The SE Research Centre addresses this challenge through its Participatory Research to Action (PR2A) Framework—a six-stage methodology that guides researchers in inclusive, iterative project development with experts-by-experience. PR2A provides practical steps for building relationships and ensuring meaningful participation throughout the research lifecycle, from problem identification to solution evaluation. With its track record of successful application in 8 studies, PR2A enables authentic engagement of a wide array of experts-by-experience, aligning with the Centre’s commitment to inclusive, action-oriented research to drive meaningful system change. Last year over 9,000+ Canadians were engaged in research using PR2A or as end-users of PR2A knowledge products.

This workshop will demonstrate how PR2A can support the design and mobilization of rigorous, compelling, and universally understandable participatory research studies in integrated care.

Audience: This workshop will be of interest to integrated care delegates committed to working in partnership with experts-by-experience in meaningful participatory research guided by 1) a shared vision for community-enabled health and social care; and 2) the values necessary to prioritize health equity outcomes (e.g., inclusion, accountability, transparency, compassion). It is critical that researchers balance community priorities with scientific integrity to ensure we are truly working with people as partners in health and social care.

Approach: The workshop will begin with a brief warm-up (5 minutes) where delegates reflect on their understanding of ‘co-design’ in health services research. We’ll then introduce PR2A and its six steps: Readiness, Discover, Define, Develop, Deliver, and Measure (5 minutes). Next, we will showcase three federally funded PR2A studies on integrated care solutions in Canada— mental health in home care, mindfulness in hospice settings, and personal support practice in team-based care (10 minutes).

In small groups, delegates will be invited to consider a new research question relevant to one of the four conference themes. Using a PR2A research design planning tool, they will ideate and describe methodology that would support answering the research question through co-design (20 minutes). Each small group will present their study design to the larger group for feedback and questions (10 minutes). The session will close with an invitation to join an international PR2A community of practice (5 minutes).

Outcomes: Research summary booklets will be provided to delegates to support shared understanding of the showcased PR2A research examples. Delegates will leave the session with a common understanding of a robust methodology for describing participatory co-design research that they can leverage in their own work and funding proposals for community-enabled health and social care. The community of practice will support continued collaboration among delegates after the conference, with potential to catalyze new PR2A research on integrated care topics brainstormed in the session.