ARC East of England has joined health and social care organisations, including NHS England and the NIHR, in committing to improve the extent and quality of public involvement in research.
In March 2024, ARC East of England pledged to the Shared Commitment to Public Involvement in Health and Social Care Research. This commitment brings together the Health Research Authority, the NIHR and a host of organisations across the UK to collectively agree to embed best practice guidance into research and share learning across sectors to ensure that research is inclusive, diverse and values all contributions for meaningful outcomes. Joining this commitment highlights our dedication to our already established practices for effectively engaging with diverse communities in our research.
The Shared Commitment statement
Embedding public involvement in health and social care research.
Public involvement is important, expected and possible in all types of health and social care research.
Together, our organisations and members fund, support and regulate health and social care research. This statement is our joint commitment to improve the extent and quality of public involvement across the sector so that it is consistently excellent.
People have the right to be involved in all health and social care research. Excellent public involvement is an essential part of health and social care research and has been shown to improve its quality and impact. People’s lived experiences should be a key driver for health and social care research.
When we talk about public involvement, we mean all the ways in which the research community works together with people including patients, carers, advocates, service users, and members of the community. Excellent public involvement is inclusive, values all contributions, ensures people have a meaningful say in what happens and influences outcomes, as set out in the UK Standards for Public Involvement.
Working together we will support the research community to carry out excellent public involvement. We will provide or share guidance, policies, systems, and incentives. We will:
- listen to and learn from the people and communities we involve and apply and share that learning
- build and share the evidence of how to involve the public and the impact this has
- support improvements in equality, diversity, and inclusion in public involvement
- promote the UK Standards for Public Involvement
We will embed this commitment into the decision-making processes of our organisations.
Organisations who have signed the shared commitment include:
- The Academy of Medical Sciences
- The Association of Medical Research Charities
- The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry
- Bristol Health Partners
- Cancer Research UK
- Cochrane
- Health and Care Research Wales
- Health and Social Care Northern Ireland
- Health Data Research UK
- Health Foundation
- Health Research Authority
- Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency
- National Coordinating Centre for Public Engagement
- National Institute for Health and Care Research
- NHS England
- NHS Research Scotland
- NIHR Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) North East and North Cumbria
- NIHR Innovation Observatory
- The Patient's Association
- Universities UK
- UK Research and Innovation