| Summary: | SHARP is a case study of a collaborative research action programme. There are two main elements: Parents of disabled children were trained in research skills and undertook a programme of research activities. The findings from the research were fed into an action learning set, comprising parents and practitioners, who developed a service model. The study is based on three seminal research questions formulated at the outset, and six sub-questions that emerged from the data. At the outset an 'ideal' model for a service was generated through parents Wishing on a star1 . A stakeholder event then joined together parents and practitioners in sharing forces for, and against change, in designing a service. Twenty-four parent volunteers completed a questionnaire comprising sections on their education and training, experience, personal situation, confidence, skills and knowledge, along with their anticipated needs in relation to a parent researcher training programme. Half of the parents then undertook a research programme of training and activities to become parent researchers. The other half acted as a comparison group. The outcomes from the parent researchers' activities were fed into an action learning set of six parents and six practitioners who recorded their plans and progress, in developing a service model, at each set meeting. Eleven parents completed the parent researcher programme. The questionnaire was repeated. Focus groups and interviews were used to explore the parents' views on their experiences of participation. The parent researchers gained more in confidence, skills and experience than did the comparison group. Their aspirations for future training and participation in voluntary work were extended and they achieved more positive personal outcomes. Framework analysis of the data was used to formulate twenty-six propositions which provide the basis for five key constructs of an evolved model of parent participation in partnership with practitioners. The evolved model proposes a sequence of involvement, engagement, empowerment and contribution in promoting participation in partnership.
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