Three Hands is a small, purpose-driven insight agency. We help businesses to understand the real-life barriers their customers face, so they can create products and services that work better for everyone.
Our Lived Experts Research Community brings together over 450 people with first-hand experience of difficult life circumstances, such as disability, low income, bereavement, unpaid caring, and physical or mental health challenges.
Lived Experts speak directly with people with responsibility for products and services at some of the UK’s biggest businesses. Whether sharing general life experiences or giving feedback on specific products and services, every session is an opportunity to be part of the conversation and shape a more inclusive and accessible world.
“It is a joy to be part of something where there is so much engagement and energy from each side. I value that sense of really being listened to.”
Dave
whose caring responsibilities have kept him out of work
“I loved how heard we were last time and really appreciated the feedback session to see that what we’d said had been taken on board.” Maria
who struggles with her mental health
“I'm always hunting for the negatives - but today I was pleased that somewhere, someone is thinking and caring about us.”
Tom
whose chronic illness means he relies on electricity 24/7
SP Energy Networks have participated in multiple projects with our Lived Experts Research Community, hoping to gain a better understanding of customer challenges and shape more inclusive communications. Lived experts reviewed their Priority Services Register welcome letter and helped to redesign their Priority Services Register webpages and live power cut updates. This led to greater awareness and empathy for customers in challenging circumstances, as well as redesigned Priority Services Register materials with improvements such as a more visible contact number, clearly highlighted communication channels, and simpler, more understandable language.
“The Outside in Project offered us valuable insights into the day to day lives of lived experts... This allowed us to implement tangible changes to our new website and communications, which is now more geared towards giving lived experts the information they require in a more inclusive way.”
Bobbie Preston, SPEN Social Obligations Lead
Three Hands Insight and Settld ran an insight workshop for Leeds Building Society to help simplify bereavement admin. Six lived experts who had direct experience of dealing with financial services companies following the death of a loved one spoke directly with staff from across the business. A year later, Leeds Building Society had made a number of specific changes to the bereavement process recommended by lived experts, which included…
We are always looking for new voices and perspectives to amplify. If you want businesses to listen to you – your experiences, views and ideas on how they could do things better – we’d love to hear from you.
If you would like to find out more, email us at community@threehands.co.uk or complete this response form:
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No! We aim to represent a rich diversity of life experiences and so, whatever difficult or challenging circumstances you may have been through, or are going through, we would like to hear from you.
There is none. We send opportunities that are always voluntary — you can participate as much or as little as you like.
Absolutely. We always offer Lived Experts a thank-you payment in recognition of the time and expertise they bring to each and every session.
Most take place on Zoom as group discussions. We may also contact you about other opportunities, such as interviews, training videos, or in-person workshops. And if you struggle with Zoom, we’ll help!
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Did you experience any difficulties accessing or understanding any part of our site?
Please get in touch with the team to let us know – community@threehands.co.uk
