Our regional Public Involvement Strategy describes how we will enhance the contributions of the public in research design, delivery, dissemination and impact. It has been written by the RDS London Public Involvement Team in consultation with our Public Advisory Group. The regional strategy is based on the Research Design Service National Public Involvement Strategy for 2019-2023.

Definitions

  • By public involvement in research we mean: Research being carried out ‘with’ or ‘by’ members of the public rather than ‘to’, ‘about’ or ‘for’ them (NIHR INVOLVE 2017).
  • Throughout this document, we refer to the ‘public’. When we talk about the public, this also includes patients, service users, survivors, carers and family members.

Introduction

The Research Design Service (RDS) London is a partnership between four world leading research-led universities; King’s College London, Imperial College London, Queen Mary University of London and University College London.

We offer a range of high-quality advice and support – from research design to formulating research questions, presenting evidence and rationale, as well as public involvement – to health and social care researchers from an early research idea through to a successfully-funded project.

Purpose

The purpose of this strategy is to enhance the contributions of the public in research design, delivery, dissemination and impact(1). The implementation of the RDS London Public Involvement Strategy is the responsibility of the RDS London Public Involvement team on behalf of the RDS Steering Group. Our  Public Advisory Group will act as advisers to the team in the design, development and delivery of this strategy.

(1) This document builds on the National RDS Public Involvement Strategy, Going the Extra Mile (2015) recommendations and NIHR INVOLVE’s National Standards for Public Involvement (2018) (now the UK Standards for public involvement (2019)).

Strategic objectives

Support researchers to involve the public in research design

We are committed to promoting effective ways of encouraging and supporting researchers to work with members of the public in research design choices so that public involvement is embedded early on and throughout the project. We will take a flexible approach to advising and supporting public involvement, considering the type of involvement most appropriate to the projects and best suited to making the research effective.

Support and develop the public involvement community

We will engage and support an increasingly diverse and empowered public involvement community and provide them with appropriate support and encouragement to participate as valued partners in RDS London. Researchers working with us will also be encouraged to engage and provide support for a diverse community on their research projects.

Support the quality of public involvement

Through this strategy, the Public Involvement team will showcase and lead the debate, development and design of public involvement across London. Aligning ourselves with the NIHR strategic priority of equality, diversity and inclusivity, the Public Advisory Group will be involved in this process, specifically to help with presentations and dissemination. We will draw on the close relationship between RDS and NIHR INVOLVE (now incorporated into the NIHR Centre for Engagement and Dissemination) in order to contribute to the development of national public involvement policy through our work and with other NIHR infrastructure.

Involve the public with strategic planning

We will involve the public in our strategic planning as well as our day-to-day work (e.g. through the Fast-track review service and tackling public involvement conundrums), so that our decisions promote and protect the public interest. We will continually review existing structures in place to increase the opportunities for the public to support the aims of RDS London in promoting high quality health and social care research.

Support the development of RDS London staff

We will provide support and development opportunities to RDS London staff to ensure they can work effectively to promote good public involvement in research applications. The Public Advisory Group will be involved in the recruitment process of future specialist public involvement advisers for the RDS London team.

Capture and share best practice in public involvement

To drive improvement, we are committed to capturing and sharing best practice in public involvement in health and social care research throughout London. We will continue to improve our methods for routinely collecting data on the reach and impact of public involvement. This will allow us to add to the evidence base for public involvement and increase our understanding of the impact of involvement on research and its beneficiaries.

Collaborate with partners

We will work collaboratively with other individuals, groups and institutions across London to share learning and best practice in public involvement in health and social care research. We will also collaborate with others by sharing resources.

Deliver inclusive and flexible communication

We are committed to making information about public involvement accessible to a wider variety of audiences.

Deliver our strategy

Expert support

RDS London Public Involvement advisers, general advisers and members of the public will promote and advise on public involvement to support the development of research proposals and funding applications. Using our links with the London Public Involvement community and our public adviser database, we will assist in the identification of relevant stakeholders. We will help generate innovative ideas for involvement through, for example, our Proposal Feedback Fora, gathering general advisers, lay advisers and researchers to advise on the development of research applications.

Financial resources

Our Public Involvement Fund will provide financial support (currently up to £350) to research teams who wish to involve the public in the design of their funding application. Recipients of our bursary will be required to provide written feedback on the impact of the award. Extracts from this feedback will be published on the RDS London website to help promote the value of these awards and evidence the diverse and creative ways of involving the public for the benefit of future clients.

Governance

We will involve the public in the governance and leadership of the Public Advisory Group. The group, composed of five members and two advisers from the Public Involvement team, will meet quarterly to discuss our public involvement activities and plans.

Capacity building

RDS London will work to increase capacity to deliver genuine Public Involvement in health and social care research across London. We will do this by:

  • delivering a series of training workshops in collaboration with organisations and lay trainers
  • supporting professional development at RDS London by providing advice and training for general advisers
  • reviewing content on the RDS London website and updating our online resources to ensure that content is clear and accessible for a variety of audiences
  • offering opportunities to members of the public to contribute to the service such as members of the public taking part in the Fast-track review service
  • providing induction training for those that provide lay review for RDS London
  • recruiting new lay members to ensure that new experiences and perspectives are brought to our work.

Evaluation and impact

We will capture feedback from groups and individuals working with us to support development of the service and assess the impact that public involvement has in research. We will report annually on the delivery of our public involvement activities. Using this information, we will reflect, learn and report on the extent to which we have met our intended purposes and predicted outcomes.

Collaboration

We will work in partnership with research active organisations across London, other RDS regional sites and NIHR INVOLVE, sharing resources to deliver a coordinated approach to public involvement. We will work with colleagues within the local NIHR infrastructure and lay trainers to co-develop and co-deliver Public Involvement workshops for prospective grant applicants.

Communication

Working with the Communications Manager, we will continue to develop and deliver information to our audience in a variety of digital and print formats. We will advertise all opportunities for involvement, such as the RDS public advisers database and the Fast-track review service, on our website. We will also involve the public in refreshing our website and resources.

References

Department of Health (2015) Going the extra mile: Improving the nation’s health and wellbeing through public involvement in research.
Available at: www.nihr.ac.uk/about-us/our-contribution-to-research/how-we-involve-patients-carers-and-the-public.htm (accessed 2 April 2019).

Involve. 2019. What is public involvement in research?
Available: www.invo.org.uk/find-out-more/what-is-public-involvement-in-research-2/ (Accessed 27 March 2019).

National Institute for Health Research (2018) National Standards for Public Involvement.
Available at: https://www.invo.org.uk/posttypepublication/national-standards-for-public-involvement/ (accessed 2 April 2019).