Working together, or co-production is a cornerstone of the CP Research Network which brings together families, adults with CP, providers and clinician scientists, to develop and advance research efforts and create educational materials to support and improve the quality of care and quality of life for people with CP.

In 2024, The Cerebral Palsy Research Network made great progress in improving care for people with CP. With our community members and clinician scientists working side by side, we developed and launched new research to advance community goals established during our Research CP programs. When it came to education, we recently released the first dystonia in CP resource to support individuals and families, and help them understand the state of science and care for dystonia in cerebral palsy. Our materials are developed cooperatively with clinician researchers and community members to provide essential evidence-based information in community friendly language.

On Monday, January 27 at 8 pm ET, we want to engage the community in a deeper discussion in our our MyCP Webinar about co-production for research where community members will function as peers to clinician scientists in developing and executing research. Co-production may seem like a lofty goal, but we believe it is critical to making meaningful changes in the outcomes for people with CP and their families, and we need your help to make this vision happen.

Paul Gross, Founder, President & CEO of the CP Research Network to discuss co-production plans for 2025 and gather community feedback.

CP Research Network President, CEO and Co-Founder Paul Gross, will lead a discussion about co-production and how community members can participate or even lead efforts. He will be joined by community and clinical members of the network that recently completed the Family Engagement in Research course in partnership with United Cerebral Palsy. The webinar will start with an overview of how the network functions, i.e., how it develops research studies and how it improves care through its 34 hospital systems. The accomplishments of 2024 will be used as an example of current research infrastructure and care. The presenters will then describe the opportunities for community members to engage, receive training and be compensated for contributing their lived experience to the research and care processes. This is vital expertise that clinician researchers do not have. The network is seeking input from the community on its current and future plans for co-production. Below are some of the questions we will be asking during the webinar:

1. What roles, of those described, are community members interested in?
2. How important is it to community members to participate in these roles?
3. What training would be meaningful and important to co-produce?
4. What is fair compensation for the different roles?
5. What other barriers do community members see if opportunities are clearly articulated and fairly compensated?

We will conclude our webinar with a description of the known opportunities to engage with the network in co-production in 2025. Please join us for this important discussion and help us shape the future of co-production to improve the healthcare and wellbeing of people with CP. Use the link below to watch the webinar or go to our MyCP webinar series page to sign up.