I am the Director of Research & Development for the North West Strategic Health Authority where I manage a team who work on building research activity in the region, supporting public involvement and strategic leadership. Since 1997 I have worked to support public involvement in research. I established the North West Users in Research Advisory Group. Recently I have been leading work to establish a new region-wide forum to share good practice, support training and provide support to people in this field. I have had an active interest in public involvement and empowerment issues since I began my career in the charitable sector. I am an Honorary Senior Research Fellow at Manchester Business School. I have also held honorary posts at Lancaster University and Liverpool John Moores University and have been an external advisor to Macmillan Cancer Support and NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement.