Alex Mitchell – Paar-Net

Alex Mitchell, grantee of Virtual Mobility in Grant Period 2

Bio:

I’m a UK-based consultant specialising in public involvement and co-creation in ageing research. With over a decade of experience supporting universities, innovation agencies, and citizen networks across the UK, Europe, and Asia, my work focuses on embedding lived experience into research design, governance, and impact. Prior to becoming an independent consultant, I was Head of Voice Operations & Strategic Partnerships at the UK’s National Innovation Centre for Ageing, where I led the global expansion of the Voice® citizen involvement network.

Grant supported actions and initiatives:

My Virtual Mobility Grant focused on designing and delivering a network-wide public involvement resource for PAAR-Net, a COST Action centred on participatory ageing research. Through virtual engagement with both researchers and members of the PAAR-Net Older Adult Co-Creators Group, I co-developed a Public Involvement Ideas Catalogue. The Ideas Catalogue provides practical guidance, standards, and tools to support inclusive involvement across the network’s four Working Groups and outlines recommended actions such as the creation of Lived Experience Panels, a shared recruitment toolkit, and dedicated support roles.

Testimonial:

This Virtual Mobility Grant enabled me to bring together insights from across the PAAR-Net community into a coherent, future-facing resource that can be adapted and built upon as the network evolves. The opportunity to work with both the Older Adult Co-Creators Group and Working Group Leads was invaluable in shaping ideas that are both ambitious and realistic. What began as a strategy quickly evolved, thanks to stakeholder input, into a more flexible, useable Ideas Catalogue, offering a foundation for deeper co-creation and accountability. The VM Grant provided an ideal structure and scope for this work and has helped lay the groundwork for longer-term involvement approaches that are truly participatory, inclusive, and embedded.