Problems, issues, conflicts and disagreements are normal parts of running a user group. You can avoid some of them with good communication, skilful facilitation and good planning, but others will still arise. Don’t take them as a sign that the group is failing. Instead, engage the group or your colleagues in finding a solution.
With any group you are going to get problems, you’re going to get relationship problems with individuals, you’re going to get people who have their own agendas for being involved… and they’re going to keep coming back to that. So I think good facilitation skills are important for that - the group having agreed rules … being able to come back to those rules when there are problems.
Corinne McCrum, Diabetes UK project manager
If you had left it to me I would have made the assumption that it’s really simple to get travel reimbursed – but actually it’s quite difficult. So you need to have those processes sorted out, so you look organised, you’ve already thought about their needs, and makes life easier for everyone. It saved us an awful lot of angst.
Carol Cottingham, NHS Lincolnshire Head of Long Term Conditions
The Guide to common problems in running user groups (PDF) 139KB outlines some of the common problems and how to avoid or tackle them.
Listen to Shona Brewster (NHS Lincolnshire Diabetes Project Manager) suggesting how to deal with problems in user groups: