Public Involvement and Engagement runs through every aspect of the Kent Research Partnership.
Working Group
Led by Gina Walton (Kent County Council) and John Potts (lay co-applicant), with support from Dr Amanda Bates (University of Kent), we established a public involvement and engagement working group, currently consisting of 12 members of the public, people using social care and their informal carers.
Meet the Group: Kent Research Partnership’s Lived Experience Working Group
The group have jointly agreed its values and principles and how it will support the aims of the partnership. We expect the working group to be involved in the following ways:
- Help agree strategic research priorities for the partnership priority setting.
- Consult on themes and activities regarding Communities of Practice.
- Review fellowship pilot projects and partnership funding applications
- Support wider dissemination.
Study steering committee
In addition to the working group, we have recruited a service user, an informal carer and a member of the public to the study steering committee. Lay steering committee members are supported by Dr Amanda Bates and Ann-Marie Towers.
Support and training
The Innovation Delivery Team at Kent County Council has been testing a new training scheme with Health Education England, which blends insights from leadership psychology and communication with techniques used by professional performers. This one day training course can help Public Involvement and Engagement representatives feel more confident in multi-stakeholder meetings and events. Budget has been included for all members (working group and steering group) to attend this training if they would like to.
Evaluation
We will keep a record of all Public Involvement and Engagement meetings and decisions, as well as a log of involvement and contributions to partnership aims and work streams. During the study, working group members will be invited to contribute to outputs and dissemination by writing blogs on their experiences or speaking at events. At the end of year three, the public involvement contributors, Researchers in Residence and research team will each write a reflection of their experience of public involvement and engagement, the impact it has had on the project and how it could have been improved. These accounts and perspectives will be co-authored as a research output in year 4 and submitted to an academic journal.
Public Involvement and Engagement in the Kent Research Partnership
The description of the role of member of the working group is available to download by clicking this link.