Information Sheet: Peer Leader Interviews: Evaluation of the Peer Leadership Self-Development Tool

About the evaluation

NHS Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust (TEWV) has worked with Habitus Collective UK to develop a Peer Leadership Self-Development Tool. This tool is designed to support peer supporters in leadership roles to recognise and grow their leadership development and capacity through reflective practice.

Simon Bradstreet Consulting has been commissioned to provide an independent evaluation of the tool, its implementation, and further development. The evaluation aims to describe how the tool was developed and refined, evaluate its impact and your experience of using it, explore whether the tool accurately reflects peer leadership, and examine what helps or hinders its use.

Approval for the completion of this evaluation has been provided by TEWV Clinical Audit and Effectiveness Team.

Is participation voluntary?

Yes. Your participation is entirely voluntary. You have the right to decline to take part or to withdraw at any stage. You can also choose not to answer any specific question during the interview. Your decision will have no impact on your role, your participation in the Peer Leader Development Sessions, or your relationship with TEWV or Habitus Collective UK.

What will participation involve?

If you agree to participate, you will be invited to take part in an online interview lasting up to one hour. During the interview, you will be asked to share your thoughts, experiences, and reflections on using the Peer Leadership Self-Development Tool, including what has worked well, what could be improved, and how it has influenced your development as a peer leader.

Do I need to prepare?

No specific preparation is required. Before the interview, you will be provided with a summary of the nine elements of the Peer Leadership Self-Development Tool. This is simply to help frame our conversation and ensure we have a shared understanding of the tool. You do not need to review or study this in detail beforehand.

How will findings be used and shared?

Information collected will be used to produce an evaluation report for TEWV and Habitus Collective UK. We may also explore opportunities to share the findings more widely, for example through publication in a professional journal, to support the development of peer leadership elsewhere. Any such publication would use fully anonymised data.

Benefits and risks

There are no direct personal benefits from participating. However, your contribution will help shape future peer leadership development within TEWV and potentially in other organisations. You may also find it valuable to reflect on your experiences and development as a peer leader.

There are no significant risks associated with participation. However, reflecting on your experiences may occasionally bring up difficult feelings. You are free to pause or stop the interview at any time, and you do not have to discuss anything you are uncomfortable with.

Withdrawal

You may withdraw from the evaluation at any time without giving a reason and without any consequences. If you withdraw before the analysis of findings is complete, any data you have provided will be destroyed and not used. Once analysis is complete and findings have been written up, it will not be possible to remove your contribution as it will have been anonymised and integrated with other data.

Data handling and storage

Interviews will be digitally recorded to ensure accuracy. In accordance with GDPR, all data including recordings will be stored securely on a password-protected hard drive. Data will be retained for one year after final publication of findings, after which it will be securely destroyed.

Confidentiality and anonymity

Any contributions you make will be anonymised in reports and other outputs. This means your name or the names of people you may refer to during the interview will not be attached to anything you say. However, you should be aware that because there are a small number of peer leaders involved in this work, it may be possible for people with knowledge of the group to identify you from the context of your comments. We will take care to minimise this risk when reporting findings.

Questions and concerns

Please take time to read this information carefully. If you have any questions about the evaluation or would like more information before deciding whether to participate, please contact the independent evaluator:

Dr Simon Bradstreet, Simon Bradstreet Consulting

Email: simon@sbradstreetconsulting.com Phone: 07976 464 128

If you have any concerns about the conduct of this evaluation or would prefer to speak with someone not directly involved, please contact:

Mark Allan, Head of Peer Work, TEWV NHS Foundation Trust

Email: mark.allan1@nhs.net Phone: 07826 894974