What is public involvement in research?
By public involvement in research we mean research that is done ‘with’ or ‘by’ the public, not only 'to', 'for' or 'about' them.
It means that people including patients, carers, advocates, service users, and members of the community contribute to how research is designed, carried out and shared.
It does not refer to research participants taking part in a study.
It is also different from sharing information and knowledge about research with the public. Read about our Transparency Agenda for further information about why this is important.
Why public involvement in research is important
Public involvement is an essential part of health and social care research, and has been shown to improve its quality and impact. It also promotes trust in research.
Good public involvement can lead to the development of higher quality research and make it easier to recruit and retain participants.
Research teams which involve patients and the public run better studies because:
- they are more relevant to participants
- they are designed in a way which is acceptable to participants
- they have participant information which is understandable to participants
- they provide a better experience of research
- they have better communication of results to participants at the end of the study
Involving the right people well can help to produce research which respects the rights, safety, dignity and wellbeing of participants, which in turn may help to address issues which the Research Ethics Committees (RECs) consider in their reviews.
What do researchers and sponsors need to do?
The UK Policy Framework for Health and Social Care Research provides a benchmark that the management and conduct of all health and social care research studies in the UK are expected to meet.
We have developed guidance to make it easy to understand what you need to do to make sure you carry out good public involvement for research and what information you should provide as part of your application for Research Ethics Committees or the Confidentiality Advisory Group.
The UK standards for public involvement in research provide benchmarks for effective public involvement and indicators against which improvement can be measured. Using them will help you follow our principles for best practice in public involvement.
Contact us
If you have a query regarding public involvement in research or in the work of the HRA, please contact public.involvement@hra.nhs.uk