The Diabetes Lived Experience Advisory Committee (DLEA) is a voluntary group of people affected by diabetes, bringing the collective voice of people living with diabetes to the heart of our plans and work, through regular consultation and involvement. This group aims to include people at risk of diabetes, parents/carers and family members in addition to people with a diagnosis of any type of diabetes.
We support DLEA members to link with their local area and diabetes community, to understand what is happening on the ground, members then bring this insight and understanding to regular consultations with colleagues.
The group looks to represent all voices of those affected by diabetes and feed this into long-term strategic projects internally within the charity so we can foster a long-standing relationship between people affected by diabetes and our work within the charity.
Ways of working
Each member can volunteer for 2 terms (3 years each). Each year we hold 4 meetings, alternating between online and in person. These meetings are attended by our CEO, Executive Team and Involvement Team as well as other members of the charity and are an opportunity for us all to touch base, share any developments from previous work and collaborate on a variety of projects.
There are also opportunities for members to join smaller projects in between these core dates. This could include shorter, focus group style meetings, joining a subgroup that follows a project or it could mean a member acting as a representative at a one-off event/activity.
"The meetings are extremely informative and provide a great oversight of Diabetes UK's operating structure and what it does to help people living with diabetes." - Quote from a member
How to get involved
If you would like to put yourself forward to be a member of the Diabetes Lived Experience Advisory Committee, please fill out this form or email involvement@diabetes.org.uk with either a video or up to one page of A4 explaining why you are interested in this role and what experiences you could bring to the group.
Please note this group can hold a maximum of 30 members at a time, therefore we cannot guarantee that all applicants will be chosen.
"This is a great opportunity to empower others, to share knowledge and provide courage for people within the diabetes community. I wanted to help others live a better life, I became a member so I could make a difference." - Quote from a member
