The University has been awarded £1.46 million by the NIHR to lead a landmark study exploring the role and impact of Lived Experience Recovery Organisations
The University of Birmingham has been awarded £1.46 million by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) to lead a landmark study exploring the role and impact of Lived Experience Recovery Organisations (LEROs) within England’s drug and alcohol treatment and recovery system. The three-year project, beginning March 2026, will be co-led by Dr Amanda Farley (Department of Applied Health Sciences) and Professor Ed Day (School of Psychology), a leading addiction psychiatrist and the UK Government’s National Recovery Champion. Co-applicants include Professor Mark Monaghan from the University of Loughborough and Mark Stephenson from Recovery Connections.
LEROs - community-based organisations typically founded and run by people in recovery - play an increasingly prominent role in supporting individuals to build sustainable, long-term recovery. Although around 50 LEROs already operate across England, little is known about how they are commissioned, how they function, or how best to measure their impact. Commissioners have highlighted the urgent need for evidence to guide decisions about including LEROs within local Recovery-Oriented Systems of Care.
This new NIHR-funded project, Mapping and realist evaluation of Lived Experience Recovery Organisations as part of the drug and alcohol treatment and recovery system in England (LEROS), will address that evidence gap. The research was requested by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID), recognising that the study aligns with the national recovery support and lived experience guidance jointly developed by OHID and Professor Day.
Substance use disorders create substantial harm for individuals, families, and communities. Recovery is not only about gaining control over substance use - it’s about rebuilding a meaningful life. LEROs provide exactly this kind of long-term, community-led support, yet there is currently no national picture of how they operate or how effective they are
Treatment services can help people stop using substances, but staying in recovery and rebuilding networks, skills, and purpose is much harder. LEROs were recognised in the Government’s 2021 drugs strategy, but commissioners still lack the evidence they need. This project will help ensure that lived experience is embedded at the heart of recovery systems
The study includes four major work packages designed to build a comprehensive national understanding of LEROs:
Central to the project is extensive involvement from people with lived experience. A new Lived Experience Advisory Panel will shape the study throughout, and the research team hopes that the work will help grow future lived experience researchers, including through opportunities for training and PhD development.
The project also aligns closely with the University of Birmingham’s own Better Than Well (BTW) programme - a pioneering initiative offering peer support, community, and structured wellbeing activities for students in recovery from addiction. BTW demonstrates the University’s commitment not only to world-leading research on recovery, but also to embedding recovery-friendly environments within its own community. Professor Day, who has long championed the importance of recovery capital and lived experience in national policy, has been instrumental in shaping the BTW programme as part of a broader paradigm shift towards long-term, community-centred recovery support.
Government bodies including the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) have expressed strong interest in the findings, which will inform future commissioning guidance and help local authorities develop consistent, evidence-based recovery systems. Dr Farley said: “We hope this research will give commissioners the tools they need to make confident, evidence-based decisions, and give LEROs the frameworks to demonstrate their important contribution to people’s recovery journeys.”
The co-applicant team will include academics from the University of Birmingham and the University of Loughborough and a PPI co-applicant from Recovery Connections, a LERO based in the north east of England
The project will run until February 2029, with findings shared through national stakeholder events, policy briefings, digital resources, and academic publications.
Associate Professor in Public Health and Epidemiology
Staff Profile for Amanda Farley Applied Health Sciences at the University of Birmingham.
Professor of Addiction Psychiatry
Dr Ed Day is a Psychiatrist who combines clinical work in the NHS with research and teaching. He specializes in the treatment of drug and alcohol use disorders,
Professor of Social Intervention
Professor Paul Montgomery-Marks' research examines how interventions and systems influence health, wellbeing, and social outcomes.
Associate Professor in Mental Health Policy
Dr Sarah-Jane Fenton is Associate Professor in Mental Health Policy in the Health Services Management Centre and the Institute for Mental Health (IMH), University of Birmingham
Associate Professor in Quantitative Methods
Dr András Vörös, Associate Professor in Quantitative Methods in the School of Social Policy and Society
Research Fellow
Staff profile for Dr Dean M Thompson, Research Fellow in the Department of Applied Health Sciences at the University of Birmingham.
