Peer Research Manual: An Essential Guide

First published on April 2025

An essential guide to setting up a peer research group that puts lived experience at the heart of problem solving.

Informed by two years of real-world testing, feedback, and refinement, our Peer Research Manual is a practical, accessible resource for any organisation looking to set up a peer-led research group safely and constructively.

Developed by individuals with lived experience of homelessness, the manual is inclusive, psychologically-informed, and built with accessibility and intersectionality at its core.

Whether you're working in homelessness, recovery, migration, or community development, this guide will help you centre lived experience at every stage of your research.

While built on working within homelessness with a specific focus on temporary accommodation, this guide can be tailored to any research project within any industry.

The Peer Research Manual is structured into five sections:

Setting Up a Peer Research Group
Covers key considerations such as accessibility, lived experience payments, ethics, safety and support.
Workbook for Planning Your Research Project
A workbook designed to help you plan your research project, with questions that guide you through the steps outlined in the "Setting Up a Peer Research Group" section.
Session Planning Guides
A practical guide for planning peer research sessions, to support a knowledge exchange approach.
Our Stories
A collection of experiences and reflections from the groups involved, offering real-world insights into peer research in practice.
Glossary
A glossary of key terms used throughout the manual, helping to clarify important concepts

Why download it?
Peer research can uncover under-reported issues, amplify unheard voices, and build skills and confidence within your community. Our manual shares tested methods and vital lessons to help you do it well.

This guide also can be an important starting point for understanding and addressing large-scale intricate problems faced in society in a safe and secure environment.

You can download the entire document or in each of the sections to make it even easier to use.