This project, conducted from 2016 to 2018, evaluated a Dutch Health and Youth Care Inspectorate (IGJ) pilot that incorporated experts-by-experience in regulating elderly care. The aim was to enhance the IGJ’s understanding of long-term care quality by using clients’ experiential knowledge. Through ethnographic observation, site visits, and interviews, the evaluation revealed how clients were transformed into experts through training, yet struggled to assert their own definitions of care quality and safety. The findings highlighted tensions between experiential knowledge and institutional practices, offering recommendations for future IGJ initiatives.