UK Counsel for SUCI in Higher Education
We advance effective and meaningful service user and carer involvement, supporting academics within UK Higher Education Institutions so that every health and social care student's education encompasses lived experience.
The UK Counsel for Service User and Carer Involvement (SUCI) in Higher Education was initiated in 2024, responding to a need to establish SUCI standards for health and social care programmes across UK HEIs.
We are a collaborative community of educators, research practitioners, service users and carers dedicated to advancing service user and carer involvement in teaching and learning. As leaders in championing education and co-production, we provide access to innovative practices and meaningful professional development opportunities.
The integration of lived experiences and authentic voices into the educational journey of students across health and social care programmes, informed by an institution's commitment to high quality teaching and learning standards.
To advance effective and meaningful SUCI guiding practice to support academics within UK Higher Education Institutions, so that all health and social care students' education encompasses lived experiences of service users and carers.
Higher education institutions, academic staff, students, service users, carers, research institutions, policymakers and regulatory bodies.
At UKC-SUCI, the success of service user and carer involvement in teaching and learning is driven by four core values.
Fostering open access, promoting inclusivity and actively inviting service users, carers, educators, students and researchers to engage and contribute.
Exploring new approaches, methods and technologies that amplify the voices of service users and carers.
Ensuring all voices, especially those with lived experience, are valued and central to curriculum, teaching and learning.
Sharing resources and research, practising scholarly inquiry, promoting partnership and fostering community.
From recruiting SUCI members to influencing national policy, our work helps HEIs embed lived experience across health and social care programmes.
Recruiting and inducting SUCI members who bring lived experience into education.
Integrating and coordinating SUCI members across health and social care programmes.
Guidance on training, curriculum design, teaching, learning and assessment.
Best practice standards to help HEIs align with PSRB statutory requirements.
Working with stakeholders to strengthen national policy influence.
Ongoing research and professional development for inclusive education.
UKC-SUCI aspires to be recognised nationally on service user and carer involvement in HE, influencing policy across institutions and providing best practice standards to help HEIs align with and implement Professional, Statutory and Regulatory Body (PSRB) requirements for service user and carer involvement in health and social care education.
We aim to foster a national network that advocates for SUCI best practice and facilitates co-production in education. Our strategic direction is focused on embedding SUCI within HEIs, ensuring that PSRB standards are met and exceeded.
Define SUCI as an essential component of inclusive education, shaping curricula and enhancing learning outcomes.
Embed SUCI in institutional policies, curriculum design and student engagement strategies.
Strengthen collaborations between educators, students and service users.
Measure and demonstrate the impact of SUCI on academic quality, student experience and institutional reputation.
A national approach to SUCI, expert guidance on embedding lived experience into health and social care programmes, and a collaborative community for ongoing learning and improvement.