Gabriela Pavarini and colleagues have published an insightful ethnographic paper that narrates, from a collective first-person perspective, the lived experience of coproduction of a digital intervention by institutional researchers and young citizen researchers in Brazil.
The study draws on autobiographical data such as meeting recordings, individual notes and collective guided reflections on the coproduction process.
The analysis focuses on challenges and solutions that arose during the process. It discusses the creation of formal and informal mechanisms for accountability, transparency and the fair inclusion of multiple voices, and engaging in mutual capacity-building to promote equitable participation.
The group concludes that their experience speaks to the value of creating a space for multiple research identities: the citizen young person and the institutional researcher, both of whom critically reflect on their roles in the research process. Many co-production models focus on the role and position of young people, but a key finding from the autoethnography is the importance of also focusing on the roles and responsibilities of institutional researchers, and how the youth researcher-institutional researcher relationship can be leveraged to co-design research and interventions.
Siston FR, Murta SG, Mendes JADA, et al, A collective autoethnography of coproduction in mental health research by academic researchers and young people in Brazil, BMJ Global Health 2023;8:e012443.