19 August 2026
Curated by the editors of all British Psychological Society journals, the annual Landmark Issue collates articles that focus on a societally and academically significant topic. The topic for this year’s issue was Co-produced Research.
In May 2026, Fuschia Sirois, the Chair of the BPS Editorial Advisory Group, said:
"The diverse range of applications and examples of co-produced research covered in this Landmark Issue will hopefully provide insights, inspiration, and guidance into the various ways to include non-academic stakeholders in the research cycle."
As a core pillar for The Australian Eating Disorder Research and Translation Centre, we believe that inclusion of non-academic stakeholders – people with lived experience, carers, clinicians and others – is critical for ensuring research meets the needs of those it is intended to benefit. Co-production is how we do research, and how we believe research should be done. The benefits of incorporating lived and living experience perspectives into eating disorder research are well-documented; when implemented properly, co-production can improve the quality and relevance of research to bring about positive change.
“When people with lived experience are involved from the outset, research becomes more relevant, more ethical, and more likely to translate into meaningful real-world change.”
— Shannon Calvert, Lived Experience Advisor
Australian Eating Disorder and Translation Centre
Let's Co! The how-to of working within a co-production framework to devise, design and execute collaborative multisite clinical trials, published in the British Journal of Clinical Psychology, presents a real-world case study on how the co-production process can be implemented in an eating disorder research setting. It documents the key stages of this process in the shared agenda setting, choice, and design of the Signature Studies; Australia's largest and most ambitious eating disorder research trials exploring a holistic understanding of eating disorders, and personalised treatment.
These stages included the establishment of governance and structure, novel inpatient clauses, the processes and principles of shared ideation, and collaborative design.
“We feel honoured to have our paper included in the 2026 Landmark Special Issue. When researchers, people with lived experience and clinicians work as equal partners, research becomes more targeted, more ambitious and more relevant to the communities it aims to serve. Let's Co! demonstrates how co-production can be embedded in complex, multisite clinical research and provides a practical roadmap for others looking to integrate it.”
— Prof Sarah Maguire, Director,
The Australian Eating Disorders Research and Translation Centre
It is encouraging to see enthusiasm for co-production gain momentum, and for its potential to reshape psychological research and practice to be increasingly recognised. Equally, it is terrific to see the collective work of our authors and contributors recognised in this way. Their shared commitment to the co-production framework and the design of the Signature Studies is deserving of being acknowledged in this prestigious manner.
Citation:
Maguire, S., Pepin, G., Calvert, S., Boulet, S., Barrand, S., Bryant, E., Brennan, L., Verdejo-Garcia, A., Darwin, L., Foldi, C., Rieger, E., Touyz, S., Carroll, B., Ikin, S., Mitchell, F., Robinson, J., Rose, A., Barakat, S., Griffiths, K., … Marks, P. (2026). Let's Co! The how-to of working within a co-production framework to devise, design and execute collaborative multisite clinical trials. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 00, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjc.70017
