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Your HRA Public Involvement Newsletter
September 2025
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 Welcome
Your public involvement newsletter shares news and information for people who are interested in and planning public involvement in health and social care research.
Anyone can subscribe, just share this link.
By public involvement in research, we mean research that is done ‘with’ or ‘by’ the public, not only 'to', 'for' or 'about' them. This includes patients, carers, advocates, service users, and other members of the community.
If you’re reading this, you’ll know that public involvement is important, expected and possible in all types of health and social care research. There are many ways that people with relevant experience can contribute to designing, carrying out and sharing research. And there is a wealth of information about how to do this well, so research is more inclusive, relevant and impactful.
We hope this newsletter:
- makes that information easier to find
- shares useful learning and reflections
Let us know how we’re doing! Complete this quick survey to tell us if the newsletter is useful. And email the HRA’s public involvement team if there’s something you’d like to share or know more about.
Make sure you’re also subscribed to HRA Latest for:
- invitations to get involved in the HRA’s work
- HRA news and developments
In this month's newsletter
Accessing the newsletter
To change the size of the newsletter, click on the link at the top and zoom in using the ‘Ctrl’ and the ‘+’ symbols. To listen to the content, you can use a screen reader or the ‘read aloud’ function often found within the ‘accessibility’ features of many devices.
For support with this, or if you need the newsletter in a different format, you can read our guidance, email the public involvement team at public.involvement@hra.nhs.uk or call on 0207 104 8161.
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In this section, we share updates from the HRA, and organisations in our networks.
 The HRA is looking for members of the public to get involved in two new online activities. Both activities will start in October 2025. We can offer public involvement fees and reasonable expenses to people who are involved.
An advisory group on simplified arrangements for consent in certain clinical trials involving authorised medicines
We are looking for 2 members of the public to join an online advisory group to inform the development of a set of principles on simplified arrangements for consent in clinical trials. The type of clinical trials we are discussing in this work involve medicines routinely used in the NHS which have therefore undergone all necessary safety evaluations required for use in the UK.
A workshop to improve how we support access needs for public involvement at the HRA
Your input will help us make sure that the wording and format of the forms and emails that we send to members of the public are inclusive, clear and easy to use.
 The policy sets out how NHS England supports people and communities to be involved in its work. These include patients, service users, carers, families, people with lived experience and other members of the public who make vital contributions to NHS England’s work. The policy sets out the support and governance arrangements in place to enable them to be effective in their roles. It also sets out the reimbursements and financial support available for certain roles, including those of patient and public voice partners.
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In this section, we share reflections and learning from public involvement activities.
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what are people’s experiences of the standards use, how do they land, is the guidance good enough, are there changes that people have heard suggested?
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how do we keep the standards current (making sure groups don’t start re-inventing the wheel)?
Feedback from the discussions will be reviewed by the oversight group. The group would love to hear from you if you have examples or case studies where you have used the standards.
Blood Cancer UK and Versus Arthritis have written a blog reflecting on their collaboration on a funding application to investigate why people with conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis or lupus may face an increased risk of developing blood cancers like lymphoma or myeloid cancers.
To ensure this research was shaped by the people it aims to benefit, they co-hosted two focus groups. One involved people affected by blood cancer, and another involved people living with inflammatory disease.
The focus groups brought new insights. For example, reflections on the role of delayed diagnosis. And the feedback also led to improvements in the project's plain English summary.
Teresa, a focus group participant:
'It’s not about ticking a PPI box - it’s about being clear on where you want to go, and why. That helps the scientists, too.'
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In this section, we aim to address frequently asked questions, and make it easier to find information that supports public involvement. You may also find the guidance page of our website a helpful starting point.
People in Research is a website managed by National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).
Researchers can add opportunities to get involved in health and social care research, and members of the public can view these opportunities.
The site has around 9,000 registered users. On average, 20 new opportunities to get involved are added every month.
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