Blueprint for Co-production: The United Kingdom Longitudinal Linkage Collaboration (UK LLC) Citizen Panel Case Study

Blueprint for Co-production: The United Kingdom Longitudinal Linkage Collaboration (UK LLC) Citizen Panel Case Study | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Blueprint for Co-production: The United Kingdom Longitudinal Linkage Collaboration (UK LLC) Citizen Panel Case Study Sami Gichki, Lidis Garbovan, Robin Flaig, Andy Boyd This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9204432/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 6 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Background: As data-intensive health research expands, questions around legitimacy, trust and social license have become central to research governance. Citizen Panels and other forms of public engagement groups are increasingly used to incorporate public perspectives into decision-making, yet there remains limited empirical evidence on the conditions under which such panels enable genuine, non-extractive coproduction, particularly within national research infrastructures. This paper examines the UK Longitudinal Linkage Collaboration (UK LLC) Citizen Panel as a case study of deliberative public involvement embedded within a Trusted Research Environment, following an evaluation project led by a peer-researcher. Methods: The study employed a peer-led qualitative design. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 participants (six UK LLC staff and six Citizen Panel members) and analysed using thematic and comparative analysis. The evaluation was conceived and conducted by a Citizen Panel member with academic oversight, enabling independent assessment of co-production processes from a public standpoint. Findings were interpreted in dialogue with deliberative democracy and power theory literature. Results: The Citizen Panel was an experimental iterative public dialogue emphasising co-creation, continuous learning and reflection and involvement of marginalised groups. Genuine co-production in the Citizen Panel was enabled by four interdependent conditions: structural independence of the panel, high-quality independent facilitation, inclusive and accessible meeting design, and iterative institutional responsiveness. Trust emerged as both a prerequisite and an outcome of these conditions. However, co-production was constrained by early role ambiguity, high cognitive and linguistic complexity, and limited visibility of impact for Citizen Panel members. While institutional influence was substantial, insufficient feedback mechanisms weakened participants’ ability to recognise their contribution. Conclusion: The UK LLC Citizen Panel demonstrates that non-extractive co-production is achievable within complex health research governance, but only when supported by sustained resourcing, independent facilitation, and closed accountability loops. The paper proposes a transferable, cyclical framework for non-extractive co-production, offering practical design principles for policymakers, funders, and research infrastructures seeking to embed meaningful public involvement in data governance. Co-production Public Involvement Trusted Research Environment Peer-led Evaluation Citizen Panel UK LLC Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviews received at journal 07 May, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 27 Apr, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 23 Apr, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 24 Mar, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 24 Mar, 2026 First submitted to journal 23 Mar, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9204432","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":611706479,"identity":"fdc11fc1-7929-4951-854f-61375a736d89","order_by":0,"name":"Sami Gichki","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA5UlEQVRIiWNgGAWjYJCCAx+ABBsDYwMzwwEJsAhjAwEtB2eQrIWZB8ZgOMBAWIt8++nEwzZ/7KL5+Bc3fi44Y8HA397AJjkDjxaDM7kbDue2Jee2STxslp5xQ4JB4swBNskN+LQwgLQ0MAO1HGxj5vkgwWAgkcAm+QCfw/rfbjhs8aeeBC0MN4C2MLAB3cbfCNRyA6oFr8NuvN1wsLftONAWxmZpnjMSPBJnDjZb4vO+fH/u5g8//lTnzu8//vAzz7E6Of725oM3e/A5DA4kEsAUDxERCQP8B4hUOApGwSgYBSMOAADZ0lFZcvQFlAAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Sami","middleName":"","lastName":"Gichki","suffix":""},{"id":611706480,"identity":"d2c03ae5-ec0a-4f73-8294-ba2312654e32","order_by":1,"name":"Lidis Garbovan","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Edinburgh","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Lidis","middleName":"","lastName":"Garbovan","suffix":""},{"id":611706481,"identity":"c3237ec1-1abd-43f5-957b-790e2e5b58f7","order_by":2,"name":"Robin Flaig","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Edinburgh","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Robin","middleName":"","lastName":"Flaig","suffix":""},{"id":611706482,"identity":"82ae553a-da8f-4627-acc1-9414422caa4a","order_by":3,"name":"Andy Boyd","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Bristol","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Andy","middleName":"","lastName":"Boyd","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-03-23 20:53:07","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9204432/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9204432/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":105798868,"identity":"1af078a5-d315-48b5-86bd-37a9cee88d04","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-31 09:14:04","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":903747,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Blueprintforcoproduction.UKLLCCitizenPanelCaseStudy23March.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9204432/v1_covered_d01c1eb5-54c5-461f-9067-4c7c0c7a58bc.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Blueprint for Co-production: The United Kingdom Longitudinal Linkage Collaboration (UK LLC) Citizen Panel Case Study","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"health-research-policy-and-systems","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"hrps","sideBox":"Learn more about [Health Research Policy and Systems](http://health-policy-systems.biomedcentral.com/)","snPcode":"12961","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/12961/3","title":"Health Research Policy and Systems","twitterHandle":"@HarpsJournal","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"BMC/SO AJ","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Co-production, Public Involvement, Trusted Research Environment, Peer-led Evaluation, Citizen Panel, UK LLC","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9204432/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9204432/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBackground:\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs data-intensive health research expands, questions around legitimacy, trust and social license have become central to research governance. Citizen Panels and other forms of public engagement groups are increasingly used to incorporate public perspectives into decision-making, yet there remains limited empirical evidence on the conditions under which such panels enable genuine, non-extractive coproduction, particularly within national research infrastructures. This paper examines the UK Longitudinal Linkage Collaboration (UK LLC) Citizen Panel as a case study of deliberative public involvement embedded within a Trusted Research Environment, following an evaluation project led by a peer-researcher.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMethods:\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe study employed a peer-led qualitative design. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 participants (six UK LLC staff and six Citizen Panel members) and analysed using thematic and comparative analysis. The evaluation was conceived and conducted by a Citizen Panel member with academic oversight, enabling independent assessment of co-production processes from a public standpoint. Findings were interpreted in dialogue with deliberative democracy and power theory literature.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eResults:\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Citizen Panel was an experimental iterative public dialogue emphasising co-creation, continuous learning and reflection and involvement of marginalised groups. Genuine co-production in the Citizen Panel was enabled by four interdependent conditions: structural independence of the panel, high-quality independent facilitation, inclusive and accessible meeting design, and iterative institutional responsiveness. Trust emerged as both a prerequisite and an outcome of these conditions. However, co-production was constrained by early role ambiguity, high cognitive and linguistic complexity, and limited visibility of impact for Citizen Panel members. While institutional influence was substantial, insufficient feedback mechanisms weakened participants’ ability to recognise their contribution.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConclusion:\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe UK LLC Citizen Panel demonstrates that non-extractive co-production is achievable within complex health research governance, but only when supported by sustained resourcing, independent facilitation, and closed accountability loops. 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