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Public involvement

Public involvement is the active participation of patients, carers and the public in the development of Healthcare services. Public involvement helps to improve communication between staff and the patient, giving better awareness of health conditions and treatment plans to achieve better outcomes.

Apart from delivering and supporting a variety of services in order to enhance the patient experience, public involvement is also a legal requirement for NHS organisations to involve and consult patients and the public.

Our mission for public involvement is to promote active and meaningful public involvement in research that it supports. We believe that strong public involvement strengthens both the quality and relevance of health research. Find out more in our Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement Strategy and Operational Plan 2019 - 2023.

It is considered good practice to involve members of the public as early as possible in the research design process. Funding public involvement at the grant application stage can be challenging. The RDS ‘Public Involvement Funds’ aim to bridge that gap. Funds are available to help facilitate public involvement in the development of research ideas and research grant applications. Please contact your regional centre for more information. You can also find out more in our brief guide to public involvement in funding applications.

To find out more and how you can get involved, please indicate if you are: