Bringing Back Care: Reflections from a reciprocity research project

Reciprocity in research is widely discussed yet remains difficult to enact in practice. Although the field has shifted from viewing the researcher as an objective, detached observer toward recognising research as a co-constructed process, many researchers still tend to keep their personal lives and experiences at a distance. At the same time, growing expectations of reciprocity within consumer-engaged inquiry have left some researchers feeling uneasy about approaches that seem extractive or one-sided. This paper forms part of a broader project that seeks to explore how researchers who work across consumer-engaged, participatory, and co-design approaches interpret reciprocity, what works well, and where there are opportunities for learning. It reflects on the initial stages of the project, from inception to implementation.

Drawing on our critical reflections during this period, we argue that reciprocity is more than paying people for their time. Given the systemic and individual barriers to participation, reciprocal practice requires recognising the shifting dynamics of relationships, the non-linear nature of knowledge production, and equal value of multiple forms of expertise.

Meaningful consumer-engaged research requires more than good intentions and appropriate payment. While people must be paid appropriately for their time, reducing their value to a dollar figure fails to recognise the importance of relationships in creating rigorous, credible, and ethical evidence. Project and funding timeframes must allow for the non-linear, iterative nature of reciprocal practice, including the time to build relationships, revisit decisions, and respond to the changing circumstances of partners.