I am a lecturer at the Health Services Management Centre, which is based at the University of Birmingham. I am strongly committed to the principle of service users, carers and members of the public having a voice in the design, delivery, evaluation and improvement of services, and this has been the main focus of my work over a number of years. In my current role, I lead the Health Services Management Centre’s Patient Experience and Public Involvement work programme; co-direct an MSc teaching module called Public and User Involvement in Healthcare; and am a founding member of the University of Birmingham’s Participatory Research Group, which brings together social researchers with an interest in user and public involvement in research. My work is not just about exploring ‘involvement’ as a concept: I also seek to incorporate the principle into my own research practice. For example, I recently led a large participatory research project exploring older people’s experiences of care transitions, which worked in partnership with 22 older people from more seldom heard groups as co-researchers.