Balancing principles, power, and pragmatism: reflections on co-production in establishing national research priorities for women’s sport and physical activity

Abstract

Interest in co-production within sport, exercise, and health sciences has grown in recent years. The use of this approach, however, is not without challenges. In this article, we share reflections on a co-produced project that sought to establish research priorities for women in physical activity, sport, and exercise on the island of Ireland. More specifically, we analyzed reflections from 17 public contributors—known as the Research Collective—and an interdisciplinary research team of 10 academics who collaborated to develop a survey, distributed nationally, to establish the research priorities. Our reflections highlighted persistent tensions between our ability to deliver our intended co-production approach while operating within structural constraints, including limited funding, institutional bureaucracy, and a short funding timeframe. We also identified challenges with relationship building and diversity, such as sustaining engagement beyond the project timeframe and ensuring representation of marginalized sub-groups. For the research team, these tensions and the need to compromise our approach carried an emotional weight that both shaped and was shaped by the (re)negotiation of power with the Research Collective. To support the advancement of co-production practice, we conclude by offering recommendations for researchers based on our learnings from this project.