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Your HRA public involvement newsletter
Issue 17, February 2024
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 A public contributor and HRA Board member at the HRA strategy launch
In this month's newsletter
Welcome
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In this section, we give a short update on some of the involvement activity we have in progress and share new invitations to get involved in our work.
 Group discussions at a HRA event
We're inviting feedback on our draft team plan. This will improve the way that we work from April 2024 to March 2025, and help us to decide what is helpful to share publicly about the way we work.
In line with our payments policy, we can offer £150 involvement fees to cover preparing for and taking part in the workshop, as well as an update and feedback meeting once the plan has been put in place.
 Speech bubbles with happy and sad faces
In the next couple of weeks, you will receive a link to take part in the HRA community survey. We are keen to hear from everyone that subscribes to this newsletter, whether you have worked with us, or not.
Your feedback will help us improve how we communicate with you, as well as the information and support you receive.
We have made some changes since the last two surveys. You can read a summary of what we learnt and what has changed on our website.
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In this section, we aim to respond to one of the questions we're asked the most – how has our work improved things for other people?
We're working with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to make sure that clinical research can improve the health of the whole population. Together, we’re producing a set of questions and supporting guidance for research teams to consider when they design clinical trials and clinical investigations. The diversity and inclusion plan will help make sure that research is designed to include people who could benefit from the findings, and that people underserved by research are not overlooked.
The questions and guidance are being developed by a group of researchers, public contributors, members of Research Ethics Committees (RECs) and people working for research funding organisations and pharmaceutical companies.
M, a male public contributor from Greater Manchester
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'I brought a different perspective, from a patient, carer, family and public point of view. I told people about the cultural issues and ethnicity issues when it comes to getting involved in health research.
'I talked about why people from different ethnicities may or may not get involved in clinical trials, what barriers exist, and what can make it easier for people to get involved in research.'
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Jane Morrin O’Rourke, HRA Policy Manager
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'The three public contributors brought their unique perspectives and experience of the challenges that different groups face when they take part in research.
'This informed the group discussion, as well as initial drafts of the guidance itself. Their input was important and has helped us make sure that the guidance supports those from underserved groups.'
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In this section, we share news about some of HRA’s work that we think you may be interested in. You might also enjoy exploring the news and updates section of the HRA website.
 A staff member facilitating a discussion at a HRA event
Our policy for payments for public involvement has recently been updated and is now on our website to make it easier for everyone to find. We hope it will provide useful information for people who are thinking about getting involved in our work. We also took the opportunity to work with our HRA Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Manager to do an equalities impact assessment of the policy.
Some of the changes we have made to the policy include:
- updating how much we cover for a number of expenses that may come about from involvement, such as meals, accommodation and carer costs. We make sure these payments continue to match what we cover for staff
- updating the information about reasonable adjustments for travel expenses. We have made the information about reasonable adjustments clearer and encourage people to contact the public involvement team to discuss these beforehand
- changing the wording for people who receive welfare benefits. Our updated wording lets people know that it is vital they seek independent advice about any impact payments might have on benefits. We continue to signpost individuals to where they can receive advice, such as having direct access to a confidential specialist service provided by Bedford and District Citizens Advice Bureau
Thank you to everyone who has contacted us with feedback on the policy. If you have any questions or anything is unclear, do get in touch with the public involvement team on public.involvement@hra.nhs.uk or 0207 104 8161.
 Members of a HRA ethics committee
In our October 2023 newsletter, we shared some exciting news about our upcoming move to a new e-learning platform, NIHR Learn. We made the decision to move to NIHR Learn so that we can better support our learners and provide HRA staff and members of our HRA community with an online learning space that works for everyone.
As part of our move, we plan to invite our public contributors once we have the relevant training materials available on the new e-learning platform.
In the meantime, please feel free to visit the NIHR Learning for Involvement website which has lots of resources and training about public involvement in health and social care research.
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In this section, we share news of activities organised by other groups or organisations. To find out more about the activity, please contact the organisers directly.
To include a news item relating to public involvement in health or social care research, please email the public involvement team on public.involvement@hra.nhs.uk.
 Illustration showing the word co-production in the middle of a lots of different people
Information about the role and the application form are online. The deadline for applications is 11.59pm on Sunday 11 February 2024.
If you have questions, or need the information in a different format, contact Sophie Parslow, Patient and Public Involvement Manager on england.aacppi@nhs.net. They can arrange a follow up phone call if needed.
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In this section of the newsletter, we introduce you to our colleagues and the people we work with.
Rachel is a Personal Assistant (PA) in the Policy and Partnerships Directorate at the HRA.
What motivated you to work in this field?
I have worked in the private sector all my life, for large utility and professional services companies.roles but have always had an interest to move into the public sector when the time was right. So when I saw the role at the HRA (which was based where I live in Nottingham) and read more about what the HRA does, it immediately interested me. There was no way I could retrain as a medical professional but this seemed an ideal role to add some value to health and social care research by doing what I was good at!
What would you like us to know about your work at the HRA?
I do lots of organising... organising meetings for our Director, Deputy Director and the Policy and Partnerships team, booking travel, helping with recruitment, organising our away days and team meetings and supporting various meetings and committees.
I generally do all the background things that you don’t see!
What are the interesting challenges in your work?
I help the public involvement team with the Shared Commitment meetings, which includes setting up the meetings, attending and then taking the notes. I really enjoy attending these meetings. It’s such a great group of people and they have lots of interesting stories and advice to share.
I also provide support for the Four Nations Policy Group which brings together policy leaders from around the UK. This is a challenging meeting to understand and minute, but I like that my role is varied and I have lots of interesting work that I can get involved in.
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If anything in this email is unclear or you have questions, please email the public involvement team on public.involvement@hra.nhs.uk or phone the public involvement team on 0207 104 8161. |
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