Working with the public

We aim to

• Embed public involvement in our management and governance
• Continue working with and developing our Young People’s Advisory Group and our Plain Language Panel
• Build partnerships with representatives and organisations in under-served communities
• Develop innovative approaches and advance public involvement into new areas
• Develop new training resources to support public involvement
• Use accessible evaluation tools to improve involvement practice and assess its impact

Read more about our strategy for involving and engaging patients and public contributors in research.

Our public involvement is led by People in Health West of England (PHWE), a nationally-recognised regional collaborative network. PHWE brings together all the parts of the regional NIHR to enable better, more consistent public involvement.

Working effectively with public contributors

This guide and diagram has been developed by public contributors and is intended to help you engage with public contributors during all stages of your research project. Involving public contributors helps ensure that your project is ethical, democratic and practical. It requires a thoughtful and structured approach.

PPI impact log

The patient and public involvement (PPI) impact log from People in Health West of England aims to improve PPI practices through regular reflection, learning and feedback. The log is a set of questions for researchers and public contributors about the PPI activities that took place.

Health Research Ambassadors

The Health Research Ambassador project draws on an approach previously used to develop and deliver community-based research projects which raised awareness of environmental justice issues and inequality.

Researcher coffee mornings

Take part in one of our regular researcher coffee mornings run by People in Health West of England, where members of the public can hear about local research projects and give researchers feedback on their work.

Coffee mornings are informal and designed to give researchers and public contributors a chance to interact. Public contributors are encouraged to ask questions, learn about, and get involved in projects in their area. Sessions usually take place on Thursdays between 10-11am.

Get in touch with Carmel McGrath, if you are interested and would like to take part.

Researcher coffee mornings were inspired by a similar initiative hosted by the Wessex Public Involvement Network and could not have been developed without their support.