Public involvement
Working with the public is at the heart of what we do
Working with the public is at the heart of what we do.
Involving the public in our work improves the quality of our research and helps us to ensure it is relevant. Working with the public means our research is more likely to be transformed into health benefits for people.
We believe that it is important to give the public a voice in all our work. The public voice influences everything we do from how we prioritise the issues we want to study, how we carry out research, how we interpret our results to how we share our findings.
By providing opportunities for all members of the public to get involved in and engage with our research, we will increase our accountability for the way we spend the public funds we receive.
We need members of the public to help us. If you are interested in being involved, please read on to get an understanding of how you can help us improve public health research, what is involved and how to contact us.
Update April 2025 – Celebrating the launch of the SPHR Parents and Carers Advisory Network
We are delighted to announce the launch of the SPHR Parents and Carers Advisory Network – a vibrant new initiative bringing together the voices of parents and carers of infants under the age of five, alongside practice partners from a wide range of backgrounds, experiences, and caring roles.
This group has been instrumental in supporting innovation through the SPHR AfRI Innovation in Involvement work, helping us explore creative and tailored ways to meaningfully involve parents and carers of young children facing health and social inequalities as true partners in research.
Looking ahead, the Network will meet quarterly to continue shaping and strengthening involvement across SPHR research programmes. They will also play a key role in supporting the implementation of our wider Public Involvement and Engagement (PI&E) strategy, ensuring the voices of parents and carers are at the heart of everything we do.
We are excited about the impact this group will have and look forward to working together to build a more inclusive, innovative, and impactful research environment.
Latest news and events
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How urban schools are keeping children active through a whole-school approach
New SPHR research led by Imperial College London shows how urban primary schools are supporting children’s physical activity and beginning to implement new national guidance. For most children, school is a second space beyond home where they spend a third of their waking hours building healthy behaviours that can shape…
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Four months in Toronto: what I learnt from my PhD Placement in Canada
Blog by SPHR trainee Rosalyn Arnold This summer, I spent four months in Toronto as part of a PhD research placement at the University of Toronto, working with Professor Valerie Tarasuk, Dr Andrée-Anne Fafard St-Germain and Dr Marc-Antoine Châtelain for PROOF – an interdisciplinary research programme studying…
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Reflections on the LA SPARC: Catherine Jacobs
The Local Authority Short Placement Award for Research Collaboration (LA SPARC) offers the opportunity for placements between the NIHR and Local Authority settings, in either direction, to build collaborations and bridge the gap between academia and practice. In this blog, Catherine Jacobs writes about her experience applying…