INVOLVE conference 2014 update

We are delighted that Dr Russell Hamilton, Director of Research and Development, Department of Health will deliver the keynote speech to open the INVOLVE conference on 26 November 2014. Simon Denegri, Chair of INVOLVE and National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) National Director for Public Participation and Engagement will talk about the NIHR ‘Breaking Boundaries’ review on day two . And for the day two plenary session, we are greatly looking forward to hearing from Tracey Brown, Managing Director of Sense About Science, a charity that equips people to make sense of scientific evidence. Other highlights from the conference will include: the chance to share experiences and vote on the impact of public involvement in research; a ‘Question Time’ panel responding to your questions about public involvement in research; and Simon Denegri hosting ‘The Soapbox’, our own version of Speakers’ Corner. We will also be presenting some of our recent projects and resources, which are outlined below. To keep up to date with conference news visit

www.involve.nihr.ac.uk/involve2014/

Payments, reward and recognition for involvement: new and old resources

Please note that benefits guidance and tax legislation been subject to considerable change/reinterpretation since 2019. Any INVOLVE documents referring to the payment of involvement fees may now be out of date and are pending a review during 2020. INVOLVE’s guidance should not be substituted for professional advice, and INVOLVE accepts no liability for decisions or actions taken as a result of its guidance. You are always recommended to take your own tax, finance or legal advice.

INVOLVE will shortly be launching a new web page on payment and reward for involvement. This will provide in one place all our INVOLVE publications on payment as well as other relevant materials.

A small group of INVOLVE members has been working with the INVOLVE Coordinating Centre to review and revise the resources we currently produce on payment. Our Payment for involvement guidance will be replaced by:

• new guidance on the principles and good practice when recognising and rewarding members of the public for involvement, with advice on payment and non-payment methods
• a new ‘welfare benefits supplement’ that will be updated regularly to ensure it offers the latest advice on how payment may affect those receiving state benefits
• examples of how organisations are rewarding or acknowledging members of the public who are actively involved.

The payment and reward web page will also include:

• the existing Involvement cost calculator and
• an updated version of ‘Budgeting for involvement’, which accompanies the Involvement cost calculator and provides practical advice on budgeting for actively involving the public in research studies.

A discussion session at the INVOLVE conference will explore these resources and discuss issues around the complexity of offering payment for involvement.

www.involve.nihr.ac.uk

A new INVOLVE report: Support for learning and development

A National Institute for Health Research (NIHR)-wide working group, established by INVOLVE following a NIHR-wide stakeholder meeting in 2013, has developed a series of recommendations around learning and development to support involvement in research.

The report also provides principles for learning and development that can help to establish good practice and examples of tools and resources that can help assess learning needs. The report encourages regional and national collaborative approaches to learning and development, working across the NIHR and with partner organisations.

The recommendations from the report will be discussed at the INVOLVE conference, with an opportunity to explore learning and development issues. Copies of the report will also be available at the conference.

www.involve.nihr.ac.uk/resource-centre/publications-by-involve/

New INVOLVE guidance notes: the use of social media for active public involvement

As the use of social media in research gains momentum, an INVOLVE advisory group has worked in collaboration with Bec Hanley of TwoCan Associates to explore this area. The group has developed guidance on how different types of social media can be used for public involvement, with examples of how researchers have used media like Twitter, Facebook, interactive websites and blogging to involve the public in research.

This guidance document, which will shortly be available on our website, will be presented at the INVOLVE conference, where there will be the chance to discuss how social media can best be used to actively involve the public.

www.involve.nihr.ac.uk/resource-centre/publications-by-involve/

Consultation: Values, principles and standards for involvement

In 2013 INVOLVE carried out a review of resources, publications and reports that looked at values, principles and standards for public involvement in research.

Following this review an advisory group of researchers, clinicians and members of the public used the information from the review to draft a framework that could be used as a flexible tool to allow learning, sharing and reflection on public involvement in research.

The 2013 review identified six values that were reported as underlying good practice in public involvement:

• respect
• support,
• transparency
• responsiveness
• diversity
• and accountability.

The principles provide more detail about these values, explain what each value means in terms of public involvement, and summarise what was found in the review. The principles are then broken down into standards that outline different activities.

We welcome your views on the draft framework. You may respond as an individual or send an organisational response. For information on how to respond please visit www.involve.nihr.ac.uk/about-involve/current-work/standards-for-public-involvement-in-research/, where you can either respond using SurveyMonkey or email us your views.

You will also be able to hear more about this work at the INVOLVE conference, where we will be presenting the framework in one of the parallel sessions.