Patient & Public Involvement (PPI)

Working in partnership with communities, patients, service users, carers, and family members.

Welcome to the Public Involvement pages of the Applied Research Collaboration Oxford and Thames Valley.

What’s Public Involvement?

It’s when members of the public work in partnership with researchers and research organisations to improve research. It’s also known as patient and public involvement, or PPI.

We use the National Institute for Health and Care Research’s (NIHR) definition of public involvement:

Public involvement in research is research carried out ‘with’ or ‘by’ members of the public rather than ‘to’, ‘about’ or ‘for’ them.

You can find out more about PPI here: Public involvement in research | NIHR

How do we work in partnership?

We work with public partners to improve the way we involve people.
Our public partners are involved in making decisions.
Our researchers involve public partners in their work.

A recent example is the work our public partners have done with us to improve our recruitment processes for recruiting new members of the public to join us. They have written role descriptions, information about how we work and created a process for supporting people when they first join.

For further information about how we involve public partners contact: una.rennard@phc.ox.ac.uk

How we work with our Public Partners

We find lots of different ways to work in partnership, Our public partners:

mostly meet and work online
occasionally meet in person and when they do we try to make use of outdoor spaces
meet in small groups to undertake specific projects
share ideas by emails
comment on documents
chat informally
attend events and conferences
chair meetings and make presentations
payment is offered for most activities – you can find out more about our payment policy and practice here

We occasionally share some opportunities that we think our public partners might be interested but we cannot offer payment for.

How to get involved with us:

Current opportunities: we are currently hoping to recruit public partners in the Berkshire area

Details: You can find the recruitment pack here: April 2025 PPI Champions and Strategy Board Public Partners Berkshire Recruitment Pack

Contact: una.rennard@phc.ox.ac.uk

How to get involved with others:

PPI Team

	Georgina McMasters PPI Champion
	Graeme Johnston Strategy Board Public Partner
	Jo Flowers PPI Champion
	Judith Williamson PPI Champion
	Katharine Keats Rohan PPI Champion
	Mary Zacaroli PPI Champion
	Millie Khisa PPI Champion
	Rashmi Kumar PPI Champion
	Richard Mandunya PPI Champion
	Sobia Afridi PPI Champion
	Sally Crowe Strategy Board Public Partner
	Una Rennard Patient and Public Involvement Manager

PPI Resources List

We have a range of resources that we have developed to support the involvement of public members in ARC governance. You can access them using the following list which is ordered using the UK Standards for Public Involvement (UK Standards for Public Involvement).

Inclusive Opportunities: We aim to offer opportunities that are accessible to all.	Recruitment materials: our latest recruitment pack for governance public contributors including details of the role and experience needed. Ways of Working: descriptions of the different ways we work together and how we decide which method we use Practical matters: explains practical matters such as accessibility, timeliness and how we manage things like conflicts of interest. Payments Process: explains the process for payment of fees and expenses including rates paid.
Working Together: We work together in a way that values all contributions, and that builds and sustains mutually respectful and productive relationships.	Terms of Reference: outlines the PPI Champions group purpose, membership and how the group operates. Ground Rules: describes the PPI Champions group ethos and how group members are expected to work together in a respectful way. Role boundaries: describes what falls within the remit of ARC governance public contributor roles and what doesn’t. Who does what: describes how we allocate tasks and activities to our governance public contributors.
Support & Learning: We aim to offer support and learning opportunities that build confidence and skills.	Induction Process: outlines the induction process for ARC governance public contributors. Training and Learning opportunities: describes how we support learning for our governance public contributors. Individual Support and Team Building: describes what we have in place to support individuals and work towards building a team.
Communications: We aim to use plain language which is jargon free, but also aim to explain more complex language and ideas.	Glossary: includes definitions for terms that our public contributors may come across.
Impact: We drive improvement through aiming to recognise and understand the difference that public involvement makes in our research.	Feedback and Updates: describes the things we have developed to keep our governance public contributors updated on PPI news and how we provide feedback about the projects they are involved in.
Governance: We involve the public in our governance and leadership.	Governance Public Contributors roles and opportunities: a table detailing the kinds of tasks and activities our governance public contributors might be asked to undertake. Public Contributors in ARC Governance diagram: shows how governance public contributors feed into different parts of the ARC governance structure. Conflicts of interest: provides a more detailed look at potential conflicts of interest and how we manage them. Confidentiality: outlines the confidential nature of being an ARC governance public contributor. Personal Records: details the personal data we hold for our governance public contributors and the reason we hold it. Chairing role: explains how the role of the chair (and co-chair) is appointed. Dealing with difficult issues: explains the process for how to deal with difficult issues should they arise.

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