Enhancing Peer Support Services Through a Collaborative Participatory Agenda

Mental health challenges are complex, and communities benefit most when programs are strategic, collaborative, and evidence-informed. That’s why careful planning and participatory evaluation are essential, especially for programs that rely on peer support to improve wellbeing and access to services.

The Challenge

Our client, a county-wide Peer Support Services Program, provides mental health support through trained peer specialists who work directly with individuals navigating recovery, crisis prevention, and social support systems. The program includes two core components:

1. Comprehensive Needs Assessment – understanding each participant’s unique mental health, social, and community needs.

2. Structured Peer Support Sessions (20 hours) – combining skill-building, coping strategies, and recovery-oriented education in a group format.

   
   

While the program had a strong evidence-informed design, leadership wanted to evaluate its effectiveness across multiple dimensions: participant wellbeing, service engagement, recovery outcomes, and system-level coordination.

The challenge? These outcomes are multi-faceted and require input from program staff, peer specialists, evaluators, mental health agencies, and participants themselves to define success, identify meaningful measures, and develop actionable improvements.

Our Approach: Participatory Agenda Design

We applied Kaner’s six-step framework for participatory decision-making to structure the evaluation process. This approach ensures diverse perspectives are included, space is protected for open dialogue, and tangible results are produced.

We designed three focused meetings:

1. Defining Program Success and Evaluation Outcomes

2. Ensuring Implementation Fidelity and Quality of Peer Support

3. Addressing Access, Equity, and System Integration

Each meeting was sequenced to move from divergence (sharing perspectives) to sensemaking (clarifying and organizing ideas) to convergence (decision-making and next steps).

Meeting Highlights

1.       Defining Program Success

Purpose: Build shared understanding of what “effectiveness” means for peer support services.

• Activities included:

  • Structured discussion on outcomes (mental health recovery, engagement, wellbeing, equity)

  • Draft logic model linking assessments and peer support sessions to outcomes

  • Identifying gaps in available data and next steps

    
    

2.       Implementation & Fidelity

Purpose: Ensure the program is delivered consistently and data collection is practical.

• Activities included:

  • Mapping where fidelity challenges occur (session structure, peer facilitator practices)

  • Developing a checklist for quality assurance and peer support standards

  • Selecting a minimum dataset for evaluation

3.       Access, Equity & Systems Integration

Purpose: Identify barriers to participation and improve coordination across agencies.

• Activities included:

  • Mapping access barriers (scheduling, transportation, stigma, remote participation)

  • Designing workflows to connect peer specialists with clinical services and community resources

  • Selecting priority improvement actions and assigning ownership

    
    

4. Supporting Diverse Voices

• We anticipated different communication styles to ensure inclusive participation:

  • Regulatory stakeholders focused on standards, compliance, and program accountability.

  • Evaluators and researchers emphasized clear definitions, measurable outcomes, and data integrity.

  • Program participants and peer specialists prioritized dignity, safety, and equitable participation.

    
    

By using supportive facilitation, we treated tension as a signal for clarity rather than a conflict to suppress which allowed honest dialogue while keeping the group focused and productive.

Results

• Through participatory agenda planning, the program achieved:

  • Shared definitions of effectiveness for peer support outcomes

  • A quality assurance checklist for consistent delivery and fidelity

  • Identification of access and equity barriers, with actionable solutions

  • A roadmap for ongoing evaluation and continuous improvement

This structured approach strengthened stakeholder buy-in and provided a foundation for credible, actionable recommendations that enhance both participant outcomes and community wellbeing.

Takeaways

1. Agenda planning is strategic: A well-designed agenda guides collaboration and ensures focus.

2. Inclusive facilitation matters: Anticipating different communication styles increases participation and trust.

3. Structured meetings drive impact: Sequencing divergence, sensemaking, and convergence leads to actionable results.

   
   

For programs delivering peer support in mental health, participatory agenda design isn’t just a planning tool, it’s a pathway to better outcomes, stronger systems, and more empowered communities.

For more on Kaner's Agenda Planning and Frameworks, see the Facilitator's Guide to Participatory Decision Making

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*To honor client confidentiality, all case studies have been thoughtfully de-identified. Names, identifying details, and contextual specifics have been modified while maintaining the authenticity of the process, challenges, and outcomes described.