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A public involvement and community engagement (PICE) group that has supported national research into prevention and early intervention, has been awarded a quality assurance standard.

The NIHR ARCs National Consortium for Prevention including Behavioural Risk Factors PICE group has successfully achieved the Dialogue and Change Award. The award recognises the impact that public contributors and communities make to research.

The Prevention Consortium is led by the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) North East and North Cumbria, and involves all 15 ARCs in England. It is the first NIHR ARCs National Consortium group to achieve this award for public involvement and community engagement.

The work of the PICE group and its impact on the Consortium’s research programme was evaluated by Investing in Children – who developed and deliver the Dialogue and Change Award.

The PICE group, which has been in place since the very beginning of the Consortium programme, was initially formed to gain the input of members of the public into decisions around which projects the Consortium should fund – and has since evolved, with group members giving ongoing feedback on project progress. The PICE group was also actively involved in the planning and delivery of a national conference to showcase the Consortium work.

Making decisions about funding research projects

As part of their involvement, the PICE group selected the Consortium projects that they thought should be prioritised for funding – highlighting the projects that were most impactful and could bring the most benefit to service users. Their views were taken on board by the Consortium Management Group when making final decisions about which projects would be funded through the programme.

Assessors from Investing in Children praised this approach, commenting that it exemplifies the importance of including members of the public when making decisions about funding health research projects, and highlighting that it is important that the needs of patients are at the forefront, rather than academics’ personal interests.

Taking a fresh approach

As part of the project selection process, the PICE group asked for films to be made summarising each project proposal, as they felt they would be able to make a more informed decision if they could hear directly from the research teams.

The PICE members reflected on how useful these films had been – helping them to understand the projects more clearly and support their decision making.

Assessors from Investing in Children also praised this use of films, highlighting how this fresh approach can bring real benefits. By having to create a film, the research academics really had to consider what the core message of their proposal was and how to communicate that clearly to a wider audience. As a result, the PICE group’s suggestion positively impacted themselves and the research teams.

Just as importantly, the PICE group members said that they felt listened to as part of this process, with one member commenting that ‘we were really part of the project team and we had equal say’ and another sharing that he ‘always felt our contributions have been influential.’

Active involvement in a national conference

Members of the PICE group also made a significant contribution to the NIHR ARCs National Consortia Conference in November 2022, hosting a PICE panel and sharing their experiences of public involvement and taking questions from audience members. The members of the group who took part reflected that the panel session felt ‘genuine’ and ‘not tokenistic’ – with one commenting that she felt ‘valued and really important’.

All members of the group were invited to attend the conference and some members were also involved in the event planning group, helping to shape various elements of the conference including the agenda and catering. They were also invited to judge the presentations and the research posters on display during the conference.

Assessors from Investing in Children recognised that the involvement of the PICE members in the conference was far more than merely attendance, and that their views were genuinely taken into account when decisions were being made about the event.

Implementing tangible change

The role of the PICE group has since evolved, and its members now meet once a quarter to give regular feedback to the funded Consortia projects around their PICE activities and the progress reports that are submitted by the research teams. The group members are the experts on how to engage with members of the public and their own communities, and so can give invaluable insight when researchers are experiencing issues.

The research leads from each project also contact the PICE group members regularly between these meetings, to ask for their involvement, input, or feedback.

The assessors concluded that it was apparent that the members of this PICE group felt genuinely listened to and had the opportunity to put forward their views on a wide range of topics – and that the ARC National Consortium group responded to this dialogue by implementing ‘tangible change’.

Dr Felicity Shenton, Public Involvement and Community Engagement Manager for the NIHR ARC North East and North Cumbria, said: “I think this group should be really proud of its achievements and we are over the moon to have received this award.

“The ARC NENC is committed to ensuring that public and community involvement in health and care research makes a real difference that is meaningful and impactful. To have achieved this across all of the ARCs that are involved in this National Consortium is immense.”

Image originally produced by Dr Ian Robson, Northumbria University.

You can read the full Dialogue and Change Award assessment below.