Public and community involvement and engagement (PCIE)

“I’ve always had an interest in how the public can contribute and take greater control of their welfare, especially groups who have historically little voice and/or control over their health.

Working in partnership with researchers is a necessary part of this journey. I’ve developed a working relationship where I can constructively challenge and offer a patient/public perspective which I believe has a positive impact on the outcomes of the research.”

Angela Ruddock / PCIE group member

Our research begins with people

At the NIHR Greater Manchester Patient Safety Research Collaboration (GM PSRC) we actively encourage patients, carers, and communities to get involved with our research. Each community has varying experiences and needs when it comes to health and social care. Your input can help improve the relevance of our research and increase its impact.

We use the guidance developed by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) for all our PCIE activities. Learn more about NIHR’s guidance.

Our involvement activities also build on the excellent UK Standards for Public Involvement. These UK-wide standards provide guidance on conducting good quality and meaningful public involvement.

What does PCIE involve?

PCIE is where public contributors work in partnership with researchers. At the GM PSRC, our public contributors include patients, carers, and anyone accessing health and social care services.

Involvement includes people with lived experience contributing throughout the research project, from the very beginning when a study is designed.

Participation is focused on recruiting people to take part in research studies. For example, this is when someone may be interviewed about their experiences, or they could take part in a trial treatment.

Engagement is the process of informing, consulting, or discussing research with the public, carers, and communities. The aim is to open discussions between researchers and the public. This helps to increase the understanding, relevance, and impact of the research. Engagement activities include public talks, workshops, exhibitions, or social media campaigns.

To find out more about how researchers from our Preventing Suicide and Self-harm theme are working with a PCIE group, visit the Mutual Support for Mental Health Research website.

Barriers to involvement

We understand that barriers to involvement exist, and recognise that some people have vulnerabilities and experience challenges that affect their ability to be involved in our research. To help address these barriers, we actively engage in supporting members of the public, carers, and communities to be involved in our research.

How to get involved

There are many opportunities for you to participate in our studies. Any opportunities to participate will be posted here.

If you would like to become involved in designing our research studies, please get in touch.

You can also find out about our latest research news and engagement events.