Part 1: Impacts of public involvement in research
- Summary
- Issues
- Questions
- Record Card
- Resources
Summary
Our evidence review identified a wide range of impacts associated with PI in research
Impacts can be classified as relating to the research (e.g. data collection, design and delivery, time and cost) or to the people involved (e.g. members of the public involved in research, academic researchers and funders)
Some impacts may be seen in the short term (e.g. on patient information documents) others may take longer to been seen or be more complex to identify (e.g. on recruitment and/or retention)
Public involvement can have an impact on all stages of the research process from topic prioritisation through to dissemination
Impacts of public involvement can be experienced as positive or negative. They may also be intended or unintended
Issues
Identifying the impacts expected at the beginning may shape the processes and actual impacts of PI
It is important to be mindful of the potential for PI to have unanticipated impacts and to look for negative impacts as well positive impacts public involvement
The experience of an impact as positive or negative may vary within a research team
Some pathways between PI and particular impacts are more difficult to establish than others e.g. choice of topics or outcome measures by the public through consultation may be more identifiable than topics/measures agreed through a collaborative process
Much reporting of the impacts of public involvement is of a low quality. In particular, it is important that both positive and negative impacts should be reported
The introduction of the Research Excellence Framework (REF) to assess research quality in UK higher education institutions has brought an increased focus upon the impact of research beyond academia. Public involvement and the assessment of its impact could make a major contribution to demonstrating this wider impact
Expectations about the kinds of impacts public involvement may have on a study should form part of a dialogue between research project team members and the public-involved
Questions
Which impacts for PI do you wish to prioritise in your research?
What potential negative impacts might there be and how will you identify these?
How will you acknowledge and address the different impacts that might be expected by the different project stakeholders? (including members of your project team, advisory groups, funders)
How can divergent views (if there are any) within your project team about the impact of public involvement be resolved?
How might an impact assessment be designed to take into account any unintended impacts of your public involvement that may occur?
Record Card
