New charter provides framework for Public Involvement & Engagement

The new Charter for Public Involvement & Engagement in the NIHR School for Public Health Research (SPHR) Public Mental Health (PMH) Programme shares best practice for fully embedding public involvement and engagement into research. 

The Charter was co-created by McPin, members of the NIHR SPHR PMH programme, and public partners. 

A framework for PPI work

The new Charter aims to ensure that public perspectives are integral to decision-making in public mental health research and research outcomes through 12 guiding principles:  

1. Purpose 
2. Definition of public involvement 
3. Definition of public engagement 
4. Guiding principles 
5. Our values and principles 
6. Roles and responsibilities 
7. Our ambition 
8. Resources 
9. Sharing challenges 
10. Capturing impact 
11. Feedback and continuous learning 
12. Review and revision 

It provides a framework for effective public involvement and engagement in the NIHR SPHR PMH programme. 

There is also a brightly coloured and engaging infographic which helps convey the Charter’s key points at a glance.   

Find out more about the charter here, and see the shareable infographic here.

Ensuring consistency in PI&E work

The Charter provides terms of reference to ensure consistency in how public involvement and engagement is conducted across different research projects and programmes.   

The owl image reflects the Charter’s core values: wisdom, knowledge, change, transformation and intuitive development. 

It is hoped the Charter and infographic can be shared and used widely as a valuable tool for effective and meaningful public involvement and engagement in research.   

Developing the charter

Gillian Samuel, Senior Public Involvement in Research Coordinator for the NIHR SPHR PMH Programme, who led the development of the Charter, says:   

“The process of co-creating the Charter spanned several months and was truly uplifting, with many people contributing their thoughts and ideas.  

“Since the Charter was launched in the spring (at the Public Mental Health Symposium and the Annual Scientific meeting) it has attracted a lot of attention and promises to be a ‘living’ document ensuring that PI&E becomes embedded in research thinking and practice”  

 A public partner said: 

“I loved being a part of the creation of the PI&E Charter. I felt like it was crucial to ensure that there is a standardised approach to how researchers engage with members of the public and individuals with lived experience throughout their projects. The creation of the charter is an exciting step forward. 

“I was able to shape the charter right from the beginning, including what we wanted to be in the charter, and how it should look.”