Stage 3:
Reaching public members
Why it’s important
Before carrying out public involvement, we need to engage with communities about our research and reach interested public members. When doing this, we want to ensure they have relevant lived experience and are representative of the populations we’re trying to serve through our research. At the start of each project, consider who you want to involve and how you might reach them. Give particular thought to how you can make the opportunity inclusive and accessible for those who are most marginalised.
When defining what representative involvement looks like for your project, the characteristics you consider will depend on your research topic. For example, if you’re studying maternal safety, you may want diversity in the methods of delivery represented. To the left are some examples of other characteristics to consider.
“For me, meaningful public involvement is about making sure everyone has a chance to take part, no matter their background or experience. It’s about bringing in different voices, so the results are more useful to a wider range of people.”
- Asmahan Al Nidawi, public member
Common barriers
Convening a diverse and representative group can be difficult when researchers aren't sure where to engage with public members, especially those who haven't been involved in research before. Additionally, researchers are often expected to find public members quickly and aren't given adequate time to form trusting relationships. At the end of a project, researchers must usually move straight on to the next, making it difficult to maintain any relationships they have built up.
One way to overcome these barriers is to partner with voluntary and community organisations who can play a key role in connecting researchers with the communities they serve. However, these organisations are often overworked and underfunded. Researchers may feel uncomfortable asking for their time, and community organisations may be hesitant to partner if they've had negative experiences with research in the past, or if there is no clear benefit to the organisation and their community.
The video to the right, co-produced with community groups across the UK, shares tips on how to work with community organisations in a way that is reciprocal and sustainable.
PLACEHOLDER:
Video co-produced with local community partners on how to form reciprocal relationships with community groups
Engagement methods
When connecting with public members, use a variety of methods to reach a wider and more diverse group, including:
Tip: Always leave your opportunity open for at least 2 weeks to allow sufficient time for the opportunity to reach public members. If you're targeting a very specific group, you may need longer. Check in on applications at least a week before the deadline to see if any of your target groups aren’t represented. If so, consider how you can engage those groups and make the opportunity more accessible and appealing for them.
Working with different communities
Health Innovation East Midlands partnered with local organisations to develop top tips for working with specific communities.
Check out their advice below:
Protecting against ineligible public contributors
Unfortunately, we're seeing an increasing amount of ineligible public involvement (i.e. public members getting involved who do not meet the lived experience, knowledge, or skill requirements for a role). Online opportunities posted on social media and advertising payment through vouchers are particularly susceptible.
Here are some steps you can take to help protect against this:
Look out for multiple applications coming in at once with brief/vague responses (e.g. "I want to share my experience and learn from like minded people.").
If someone doesn't write much in their application, consider emailing or calling them to ask for more information.
If possible, hold your first public involvement activity in-person. This helps build rapport, and you can then discuss the group's preferences for meetings going forward.
If a public member keeps their camera off and doesn't contribute during an online meeting, follow up and offer a 1:1 phone call to get their thoughts.
Overall, we want to ensure opportunities are accessible, so we're not looking to add complex steps which could dissuade people from applying; instead we want to put measures in place to ensure people have the required lived experience and skills.
Resources
Flyer
Have a fair and transparent selection process in place such as a short application form to check applicants meet your eligibility criteria and to ensure you are hearing from a diverse range of perspectives.
You can create your application form using an online survey platform such as Qualtrics or Microsoft Forms. It’s also helpful to provide a phone number that public members can call if they would prefer to apply over the phone.
When shortlisting, two members of your team should independently score applicants against predetermined selection criteria to decide who to involve.
Once you’ve decided who to involve, make sure to notify all applicants, including those who were unsuccessful. For those who were unsuccessful, consider signposting them to a mailing list where they can sign up to hear about future opportunities.
Tip: In engagement materials, avoid using phrases such as 'underserved’ or ‘underrepresented’ communities as public members often don't identify with these terms. Instead, be specific about who you're trying to involve. If you want to involve a specific ethnic or religion group, state that and give some background as to why. When doing so, make sure not to place blame on communities for the inequities they experience.