Setting the standard for public involvement
The final UK Standards for Public Involvement, which aim to improve the quality and consistency of public involvement in research, are released today.
CSO formed a part of a UK-wide partnership to develop the Standards, which have piloted in ten sites across the UK including the Asthma UK Centre for applied research at the University of Edinburgh and the Palliative and End of Life Care Patient and Public Involvement Research group at the University of Glasgow.
The release of the Standards coincides with InvolveFest, a set of events celebrating involvement of people in health and social care in Northern Ireland.
The Standards set out six areas for developing good quality public involvement. They encourage approaches and behaviours that are the hallmark of good public involvement such as flexibility, sharing and learning and respect for each other.
These guidelines can be used by members of the public, groups, researchers and research organisations as well as public involvement facilitators and can be used with any method or approach to public involvement. They include:
- Inclusive opportunities
- Working together
- Support and learning
- Communications
- Governance
- Impact
More than 40 organisations, groups and individuals across the UK used the Standards during a year-long piloting phase – and were overwhelmingly positive about their experience of implementing them. The pilots used the Standards in different ways, including as a framework to support reflective practice and future plans for public involvement activities.
When asked to rate how the Standards had influenced their own, or their organisation’s practice, most of the 40 pilots said they’d either improved, started to improve or created the ambition to improve.