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Showcase event to mark Shared Commitment to Public Involvement
NHS Research Scotland is celebrating the third anniversary of the launch of the Shared Commitment to Public Involvement in health and social care research with an impactful showcase of projects and activity across the country
Signed on 11 March 2022, the Shared Commitment recognises that excellent public involvement is an essential part of health and social care research and has been shown to improve its quality and impact.
Launched with 13 signatories including NHS Research Scotland, The Chief Scientist Office, The Health Research Authority (HRA), Academy of Medical Sciences (AMS), The Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC) and others; the Shared Commitment has helped to drive up standards in health and social care research and now involves 30 partners across health and social care.
In Scotland, significant work has been undertaken to reinforce the importance of public involvement in health and care research so that more people are both able and confident to choose to take part in research. PPI is now a requirement in funding schemes and awards, PPI groups have expanded across specialty areas, while guidance, training and support is better enabling researchers to involve patients, the public and communities better in their work.
Professor Dame Anna Dominiczak, Chief Scientist (Health) at Scottish Government, said: “The standards recognise that delivering better research which meets the diverse needs of patients and communities means putting people first, ensuring a wider spectrum of voices are heard and play a meaningful part in shaping health and social care research.
“We are proud to be part of collective efforts to drive up standards; and our patient and public involvement event today is testament to the strength and diversity of activity taking place across our communities.”
The showcase event takes place at Stirling Court Hotel, part of University of Stirling campus. It brings together the patient and public involvement community with over 200 delegates, 50 speakers and public contributors showcasing activity and initiatives to drive up standards in public involvement.
A diverse range of topics will be explored with six interactive workshops including: Ethical patient and public Involvement, exploring convenient locations for clinical trials, thinking about impact and evaluation, using the arts to enhance patient and public involvement in research, impact of reminiscence therapy on health and wellbeing, and using storytelling and videos to explore lived experience perspectives in research. These sessions provide an in-depth exploration of the topic promoting knowledge transfer, skills development and collaborative learning among participants and workshop facilitators.
A further six oral sessions will see multiple presenters come together to showcase projects and initiatives focused on: Working with underserved groups and communities, PPI for future health delivery, PPI in data science research, involving children and young people, involving people in potentially sensitive research, and PPI in neurological research.
A poster showcase will provide further opportunities for learning, engagement and interaction.
Carol Porteous, PPI Lead at NHS Research Scotland and chair of the event said: “It is pleasing to note that high quality PPI is now widely recognised as an essential cornerstone for the success of health and care research, not to mention an integral way of improving its impact.
“PPI is also a rapidly evolving area, and our PPI event provides an excellent opportunity to bring the community together, demonstrate growth and success across many areas, while highlighting exciting new developments and areas we can learn from each other to support further improvements.”
Follow updates from the event via @NHSResearchScot, and using #PublicInvolvement.
Publication date: 11th March 2025
