Celebrating Impact

Bournemouth University Public Involvement in Education and Research (PIER) Partnership Annual Report 2019-20 September 2019 – August 2020

Celebrating impact

Contents A message from our Academic Lead 3 About us 4 A word from our co-ordinators 5 Our priorities from 2015-20 6 Our year in numbers 7 Our community 8 Community partners 10 Types of involvement 12 Involvement in lectures and workshops 12

Involvement in simulation and role play

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Involvement in assessing students’ work 14 Involvement in admissions 15

Involvement in health and social science research

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Creating films and resources 16 Embracing digital technologies 17 Our plans for 2020-21 18 Contact us 20

The PIER partnership is a collaboration between people with lived experience, academics and students at Bournemouth University. As experts by experience, we bring unique perspectives, knowledge and insight to health and social science education, research and practice, leading to improved outcomes for all involved.

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A message from our Academic Lead Welcome to the 2019-20 annual report for the BU PIER partnership. In the following pages we provide an overview of PIER activity for the 2019-20 academic year and what a year it has been.

Many of us will look back on 2020 as a year like no other. The restrictions made to all of our lives as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic have forced many of us to make changes to our daily lives and brought into sharp focus what our priorities are. With so many of our PIER members shielding and caring for people with health issues, which increases the risks and fears around the spread of Covid-19, we were particularly aware of the potential impact on our community and the need for us to all support each other.

When lockdown hit in March 2020, we developed a three pronged strategy: 1. To support our network of members through weekly email updates, zoom coffee mornings, individual contact and bookable phone calls 2. Upskill ourselves and members to be able to engage online 3. Adapt existing PIER activities for online delivery to still meet the regulatory requirements.

This led to the introduction of the Zoom coffee morning with the sole focus of maintaining connections and supporting each other. It brought together our community and led to some lighter hearted moments through the sharing of lockdown photos and activities; my favourites being the lockdown haircuts! Despite the challenges, the switch to working from home and online delivery across BU led to a number of exciting activities, including PIER members providing written feedback on recorded student presentations; providing lived experience narratives through their choice of film, audio recording or written

stories; taking part in online discussion groups with students; and in place of role play and simulation activities, taking part in online or phone calls with students to share their lived experience of surgery (Operating Department Practice students) and experience of lockdown and their access to support (Social Work students). Research activity continued with the involvement of PIER members in the design of 13 research studies. The success of these activities really is testament to the partnership for being able to adapt quickly and maintain high standards in the goal of ensuring that lived experiences inform health and social science education and research.

There have been many highlights of the 2019-20 academic year, both before and since lockdown measures were introduced. Since the start of the year we have been introducing far more opportunities for co-produced involvement in education and research. I was delighted to see a number of activities led, designed, developed and delivered by PIER members in collaboration with academics throughout the year. These included the development of the PIER Facebook page and the design and delivery of the Inter-Professional Learning day, which involved students from programmes across the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences pitching their ideas for service improvements to PIER members. We have an amazing range of skills, talents and expertise in the partnership and it is wonderful to see these being utilised. We want to do this more and this will be a key part of the aims and vision for 2020-21. The range of experiences, skills and knowledge makes me realise how lucky we are at BU to have such a strong and active partnership of people with lived experience who are willing to contribute their expertise.

BU PIER members and the range of community organisations we have collaborated with this year are integral to the success of education and research activity across the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences. We thank every single individual for your involvement and we look forward to another successful year in 2020-21.

Kind regards Dr Mel Hughes Principal Academic in Social Work Academic Lead for BU PIER Partnership

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Our goal, values and approach The PIER partnership is a collaboration between people with lived experience, academics and students at Bournemouth University. As experts by experience, we bring unique perspectives, knowledge and insight to health and social science education, research and practice, leading to improved outcomes for all involved.

Our goal For those who are most affected by health and social inequalities to lead the way in shaping responses and improving outcomes.

Our shared values The BU PIER partnership is underpinned by our shared values and goals of humanised and relationship based models of collaboration. Our work is based on respect and meaningful engagement where everyone involved feels valued and respected.

Our approach To involve people with lived experience as consultants; reviewers; researchers; facilitators and assessors due to the expertise they have and the perspectives they can share.

To develop inclusive models of collaboration in education, research and practice which are based on parity of involvement; giving people a voice; and enabling a wide range of people to participate in ways which work best for them.

To broaden the range of voices collaborating in research, education and practice; in particular, marginalised and seldom heard groups.

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A word from our co-ordinators Pete Atkins

Angela Warren

PIER co-ordinator

PIER co-ordinator

I have been co-ordinating service user and carer involvement at Bournemouth University since 2006. I came to the job from previously working as an officer for the charity East Dorset Mental Health Carers Forum, working with local councils and Dorset Health Care University Foundation Trust (DHUFT), as well as being a mental health carer.

This year has without doubt been the most challenging so far for the group and the most rewarding. There has been a combination of challenges including Covid-19 and planning our move from Royal London House to the new Bournemouth Gateway Building.

Reflecting on the whole year, the main highlights for me were: • Maintaining contact and support with 100 PIER members during the challenging times of lockdown.

• Adapting to the transfer of the working environment in the new virtual world and developing a wider variety of ways to gain feedback from both students and BU PIER members.

• Increasing the range of BU PIER members and academics engaged with, and supporting public involvement in research projects • Coordinating a variety of virtual sessions in social work, operating department practice (ODP) and occupational therapy (OT) courses during the lockdown period.

• Providing development training for PIER members on Twitter, Facebook, Zoom and Microsoft Teams.

“This year has without a doubt been the most challenging so far for the group and the most rewarding.”

I have been working at Bournemouth University for 12 years, although my first contact with BU was in 2002; talking to mental health students about my own lived experience of mental health. Having a professional background in education and my own service user experiences serves as a great combination for my role with the BU PIER Partnership. I am fully committed to providing excellent learning opportunities for our students to take into their future practice.

When I think about the last year, one of the highlights (pre-lockdown) was the Humanisation workshop days with adult nursing students. These days bring together nearly 300 nursing students with a diverse group of people who willingly shared their stories which evoked lively interaction and discussion. Students always ask for more and report that they have had ‘their eyes opened’ and attitudes changed.

I always love to plan and develop new activities collaboratively, and over the past three years I have worked with a group of PIER members and an academic to develop a teaching and learning activity (for large cohorts) based on the model of ‘Team Based Learning’. This is a collaborative way of learning where students individually undertake some pre work before they come to class and then work in teams to apply their knowledge and learning using a problemsolving approach. The energy and enthusiasm that is generated, working in this way, is one of the many reasons why I love my job!

Whilst it has been a challenge, I have enjoyed developing new ways of developing patient and public involvement (PPI) in research in the last year. With face to face meetings and focus groups currently not an option, I worked with a researcher whose project was to explore patients’ and practitioners’ perceptions of contextual factors following a virtual consultation for lower back pain. PIER members were involved in the design stage of the project; providing input on the design of a patient interview schedule and guidance on the patient recruitment process. A PIER member with recent relevant experience also undertook a ‘test interview’. PIER members contributed via e-mail, phone calls and Zoom. I have enjoyed learning to use different digital platforms and then helping others to do the same.

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Our priorities from 2015-20 2019-20 is the final year of our five year PIER strategy which was ratified by the Faculty Executive Board in 2015.

We have continued to refine and report on our success in meeting priorities in each year’s annual report. For the

2019-20 annual report, we have selected they key priorities which were set back in 2015 which we feel reflect on how far we have come.

Our 2015-20 objectives were to: Develop collaborations in health and social science research by: • Creating and supporting opportunities for PIER partnership members to lead, contribute and collaborate in research activity • Facilitating contacts and collaborations between researchers and a broad range of specialist groups • Developing and sharing materials and resources for researchers to enhance good practice in involvement • Developing and supporting the dissemination of research findings which can be used in education and professional practice • Engaging in research activity to evidence the links between involvement, outcomes and impact

Develop collaborations in health and social science education by: Developing innovative and impactful models of: • Teaching, learning and assessment • Curriculum design and development • Admissions processes • Meeting (and exceeding) the requirements of the regulatory bodies • Practice skills through simulation, role plays and consultation sessions • Evaluating activity and using data to inform research and publications on service user and carer involvement and the impact on professional practice • Disseminating findings at a national and international level.

Contribute to involvement at a national level • Develop and support collaborations with local, regional, national and international organisations and networks • Present and host conferences • Develop a website, annual report, newsletter and social media presence to promote work internally and externally • Develop a range of resources such as teaching materials, training packages, payment models and research to guide academics internally and externally wanting to increase involvement in health and social care education and research.

Evidence of our activity throughout this 2019-20 Annual Report demonstrates our success in addressing these priorities.

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2019-20: Our year in numbers 133

separate activities conducted

1,248

students benefiting from PIER involvement

53

individual members involved

36

academics collaborated with

31

community organisations involved

13

research studies we coordinated involvement in

7

films we made highlighting lived experiences

785

direct contact hours between PIER members, students and academics

2,012

individual visits to our website

6,006

page views on our website

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Our community The PIER partnership is made up of individuals who have all had experience of using health and social care services or who care for someone who does. An initial recruitment of eight members has grown to 99 over the last 15 years.

People have joined us from organisations such as the MS Centre, the Wessex Cancer Trust or after viewing our website. Many members publicise our work through support groups on social media or simply by talking to friends and family.

This year, we introduced a new PIER Facebook group administrated by two of our members which has helped to bring our network closer together. Twice a year, PIER members are invited to a large members meeting to get together and discuss current and future work and, on occasions, to receive training to aid their participation.

This meeting sees academics and members engaging in discussions around future learning activities and research projects. The meetings provide opportunities for members to support each other and friendships to form.

A goal for 2020-21 is for PIER members to be much more instrumental in planning and leading these meetings.

During the unusual circumstances of Covid-19, it has been important to ensure that contact across the partnership has been maintained. This has been achieved by contacting every member to ask how they are; offering phone conversations for those who have felt isolated and hosting ‘coffee mornings’ on Zoom. The breakout feature afforded the opportunity for members to have informal chats in small groups. One such coffee morning in July 2020 saw a number of academics attend which led to some lively discussions; generating ideas for future activity.

Preparation and training sessions for involvement in education and research are a key part of the work of the BU PIER partnership. It is important that members feel prepared and confident with a clear understanding of what is required of them. Usually these sessions are conducted in a face-to-face meeting. As we moved towards a model with more online delivery, we recognised that not everyone has experience using such software as Zoom and Microsoft Teams. To this end, Zoom and Teams training was provided for members in order for them to feel more confident, participating in the virtual world. We will continue to support these with the introduction of practice and peer sessions in 2020-21.

The PIER community is one where genuine care is shown amongst its members. In July 2020 we heard of the passing of one of our longest standing members; Alan Lindsay. The affection and respect for Alan was demonstrated in the number of tributes received from members. He gave so much of himself to BU and will be greatly missed.

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Community partners In addition to individual members, we have increased our collaborations in education and research activity with local, regional, national and international organisations. In 2019-20, we collaborated with 31 groups and organisations

Ducie The BU PIER partnership remains an active member of the national Ducie network. Ducie aims to enhance the involvement of users and carers in learning and teaching through development of a support network for user and carer involvement development workers employed within UK higher education institutions (HEIs). Membership of this network has provided us with the opportunity to share ideas, plans and resources and to gain feedback, as well as to develop our broader network. This has been crucial as we have all adapted to involvement during the Covid-19 restrictions. We have previously hosted a national event for user and carer development workers and have plans to do this online in the coming year.

“The BU PIER partnership play a key role in the Ducie network. Through sharing information, and their own resources, and responding to others’ queries they have helped to sustain the network, and its members, through this challenging year.”

Jill Anderson, Ducie

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in education and research. These include user led groups; local and national charities, local authorities, health trusts, research bodies and universities.

Dorset Blind Association Pete met up with Moira Kopanycia-Reynolds, Community Support Worker of the Dorset Blind Association, at one of their support group meetings in Poole. From this meeting three members of their group, Terri Jo Kerrison, Iain Sutherland and Karen Currie decided to join the PIER partnership. During the academic year they have engaged online and in person with occupational therapy (OT), physiotherapy, social work and psychology students; sharing their expertise on living with a visual impairment and enabling students to practise their communication skills.

What did students learn?

“When it comes to visually impaired people there is not enough support being given from OTs, physios and other healthcare professionals.”

First year occupational therapy student

“It was emphasised by both service users how crucial effective communication and feeling heard is and how much of a difference this makes.”

First year physiotherapy student

“This has taught me in my future practice to ask each service user what language they would like to use to avoid offensive labels, and how they would like to be addressed, this may change from person to person, so it is important to ask everyone you work with.”

Second year BA social work student

Chatterboxes

Body Positive Dorset

Chatterboxes is a youth action project run by young people with disabilities aged 11-25 years old from Bournemouth, Poole and other parts of Dorset. We worked with young people and staff from Chatterboxes and Dr Lou Oliver (lecturer in Social Work) to engage MA Social Work students in discussions about risk and complexity.

We collaborated with Body Positive Dorset in the Nursing Humanisation workshops and within the social work Learning from the Lived Experience unit. Body Positive aims to support and empower people living with and affected

by HIV in Dorset and the surrounding areas. They evaluate and develop services that meet the changing needs of the diverse community and provide information and education on HIV and other sexually transmitted infections to encourage testing, early diagnosis and treatment to reduce the onward transmission of infections.

What did the young people from Chatterboxes think?

“What stood out most for me was how the students each seemed to have a genuine interest in what we said. I felt listened to and I felt like they really wanted to understand our perspectives and saw the workshop as a valuable opportunity to help them improve their practice, rather than a box-ticking exercise.”

Chatterboxes member.

What did students think?

“It was engaging, honest and they all gave something of themselves.”

2nd year MA Social Work student.

“Inspirational, funny and very real. Thank you.”

2nd year MA Social Work student

How do academics feel PIER involvement enhances their teaching?

“This session was engaging, used different presentation techniques and was informative. They used both official data as well as information gathered across the Chatterbox groups for this presentation about their involvement with services, so that feedback had a more personal element. A real strength to this presentation was when they informed us all of what they found was of most benefit from social workers they have worked with.

This allowed us all to consider what we would do differently in practice, including how to develop a more positive working relationship with young people who are disabled. The student group engaged well with the seminar and following the seminar, positive feedback was given.”

What did the people from Body Positive think?

“The humanisation workshops are very enjoyable, and I have found that over the years of providing education in this way it has helped to alleviate some of the stigma and discrimination people living with HIV experience sometimes. The sessions are lively, fun to do and put a real personal emphasis on how services can be changed, challenged, and implemented.”

Samantha Dawson – Manager

“Being HIV positive myself I find that “me” is a great resource for the students to learn from.

They can hear real life versions on HIV stigma and behaviour that is often rooted in old myths and beliefs and passed on to the apprentice in the work place.”

Par Gustafsson - Body Positive service user

What did students think?

“I learned so much about HIV and the misconceptions about HIV; completely changed my perception of HIV.” “Very good and useful information given. I will use this in practice.”

Dr Lou Oliver, Lecturer in Social Work

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Types of involvement PIER involvement is about so much more than sharing stories. Our members are experts by experience who bring unique perspectives, knowledge and insight to health and social science education, research and practice, leading to improved outcomes for all involved. In 2019-20 we

coordinated 133 separate activities, involving 785 direct contact hours between students, academics and PIER members resulting in direct involvement with 1,248 different students.

Involvement in lectures and workshops Student feedback data, gathered over a number of years, has demonstrated the positive impact the expertise of people with lived experience has on students’ personal and professional development. 2019-20 has seen further development of innovative and meaningful models of involvement in education across all our programmes.

Lectures and workshops are initiated via a ‘Request form’, people with the relevant experience and expertise are identified and then a planning meeting will follow, to discuss and design the content and delivery of the session.

In mental health nursing, PIER members contributed to the Physical Care in Mental Health Settings unit. The unit is theory heavy, so service user involvement helps students conceptualise the impact of physical conditions on mental health.

What do PIER members think?

“I see myself as the link between theory and practice. You can read about something, but you can’t know about it unless you speak to someone who’s actually been there.”

There has been an increased involvement in the Operating Department Practice (ODP) course in 2019-20.

One activity saw first year students listening to patients’ stories by asking about their daily lives; living with an illness or disability; and their experiences of hospital admissions. Further discussion elicited how the students could facilitate more person centred and individualised care when in practice. Student feedback recognised that even the smallest interaction with a patient can have significant impact.

First year BA Social Work students worked with PIER members and partner organisations in a PIER led unit: Learning from the Lived Experience. Students spent four weeks working in groups of around eight, facilitated by a person with lived experience. Students immerse themselves in the topic by engaging in conversations and research out in the community to gain insight.

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2019-20 topics included: identifying as transgender; being an adult survivor of childhood abuse; being a looked after child and care leaver; acquiring a physical disability; and having HIV. Our adult nursing course has cohorts of up to 280 students and while mass lectures are a necessity for some areas of learning, we try to create opportunities for students to have more interactive sessions with PIER members. Within The Humanisation of Healthcare unit, second year students attend two workshops out of a menu of nine or ten, which are all facilitated by people with lived experience of, for example: homelessness, substance use, living as a trans person, being part of the BAME community.

How do academics feel PIER involvement enhances their teaching?

“The workshops are one of the most highly rated aspects of the unit. The reason is that they are real encounters with real people. This achieves something that we can’t achieve through teaching alone and that students can’t achieve through reading books. It brings students alive and allows them to actively engage in the learning. Most notable amongst the evaluations is the impact on student attitudes and values; they frequently comment upon how the workshops ‘opened their eyes’ or made them question their beliefs. They are always enormously grateful for the time and effort given to them by the service users and carers.”

Unit leader, Julie Ryden

Involvement in simulation and roleplay Simulation and roleplay are tools we use to assess students’ developing practice and prepare them for the realties and complexities of the workplace. In 2019-20 PIER members have undertaken such activity in social work, ODP and paramedic science. There is usually a simulation activity in the adult nursing course, but this large-scale activity could not go ahead this year due to Covid-19 restrictions. Instead, students were tasked with undertaking an e-learning package; The Empathic Care of a Person with Cerebral Palsy e-simulation, which is a reconstruction of a real-life event based on the hospitalisation experiences of Helen Ross, a woman and PIER member with cerebral palsy and complex communication needs. The e-learning package was developed by Dr Sue Baron in collaboration with Helen and the PIER partnership and has been presented at an international conference and shared with the ‘Empathy Museum’; a repository of open-access evidence-based curriculum resources to enhance healthcare students’ and clinicians’ empathy skills.

Sadly, Helen passed away after a short illness in 2018 just as the film project was nearing completion. The continued use of her films is a legacy which we are proud to have. Tracy Levett-Jones, Professor of Nursing Education and Discipline Lead, University of Technology, Sydney said,

“Just think how many students we will be able to impact with your beautiful films and, even more importantly, how many people who will hopefully receive better care from those students … many thanks to you, Helen and the team at Bournemouth.”

Pre Covid-19, first year MA Social Work students engaged in an assessed role play with either a service user or carer in a simulated home visit setting. Students were required to demonstrate basic interpersonal skills (use of appropriate questions, empathy, building a rapport and active listening) whilst breaking difficult news. At the end of the activity, students receive immediate verbal feedback from the PIER member and observer (a social work practitioner) and students are given the opportunity to discuss their performance.

What do students’ think?

“It is important to listen to service users. Take time to know your service users when delivering bad news; to make them feel at ease first; and always give feedback on the timelines you promised. I learnt how to rephrase certain questions and it was a good exposure to begin my placement with.”

First year MA Social Work student BA Social Work students undertook a similar activity (an assessed role play) but adapted to be conducted online due to the Covid-19 restrictions. This involved talking to service users and carers about the impact of Covid-19 on their lives; in particular, the access to ongoing healthcare, social care and support.

How do academics feel PIER involvement enhances their teaching?

“The role-plays were particularly challenging this year due to moving online unexpectedly. However, doing it this way showed us how important the use of telephone skills are for practice, and gave valuable learning. The adaptability of the PIER members and their ability to respond to the situation and undertake the role to provide this learning opportunity was invaluable, and essential in providing a safe testing ground for these skills. As always, it was done with great humour and skill.”

Fiona Cusack, Readiness for Direct Practice unit leader Other role-play and simulation activities in 2019-20 were adapted to the virtual world. Operating Department Practice (ODP) students ‘interviewed’ PIER members about their experiences of surgery. This was done by telephone. The aim was for students to understand the patients’ needs within and outside the operating theatre and to appreciate that the surgical journey starts well before the operation.

What do students think?

“I learnt how important it is to treat each patient as an individual and talk to them as a person rather than just an operation on the list. The patient found that the surgeon was not very welcoming but the ODP really helped to put her at ease.”

First year ODP student

What do PIER members think?

“I would imagine that for some students – phoning a ‘stranger’; not having that face to face contact and needing to ask some personal questions was challenging; but my overall feedback of today was that they were very skilled at asking the questions, reflecting on the answers and asking ‘follow up’ questions. I was glad that attention was paid to the whole experience, not just the actual surgery.”

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Involvement in assessing students Increasingly we are drawing on the knowledge and expertise of PIER members when assessing students’ work in relation to their professional practice. This takes place across programmes when assessing students’ skills in role

play and simulation activities as explored previously and is also used in assessing student presentations and practice portfolios.

What do PIER members think?

How do academics feel PIER involvement enhances the assessment process?

“I really enjoyed listening to and marking the Masters year one social worker presentations which was done digitally instead of previous face-to-face marking. I am glad PIER members were still asked to contribute even with the difficulties Covid-19 has caused. These presentations always give me hope and I am frequently surprised about how honest and self-aware and self-critical the students are which is refreshing given my own experience with social workers.”

Rachel Jury “As this required some computer expertise, I was given very helpful assistance by the academic both technically and in terms of the assessment requirements which ensured a smooth and successful process. One of the advantages of this process was that I was able to go back over slides especially the more complex ones which would not have been possible in a live situation. However, a disadvantage of this remote process was that I was not able to question the students after the presentation.”

Peter Latchford

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“We have adapted how we work so we continue to involve PIER partners in student assessment. I won’t minimise the challenges of getting academics and students to engage with different technology. It has been a steep learning curve for all involved. PIER members missed seeing the students and being able to ask questions. We missed having a group of student peers in the audience. Adopting this approach has benefitted all however, as students receive more in-depth and constructive written feedback from the panel. Where we are able to replay and discuss parts which caused disagreement, we could clarify feedback and share views. I have appreciated the productive and interesting conversations with PIER members. It has been instrumental in the marking process.”

Ros Dray, Lecturer and Practice Lead

Involvement in admissions A longstanding part of the PIER partnership’s involvement has been to engage in the selection of students for places on regulated programmes across the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences. With hundreds of interviews being conducted each year, this was a huge commitment. In 2018, the decision was taken to focus our involvement in admissions on the design of the interview day process and selection criteria.

In social work, this involved working closely with Richard Williams, (Senior Lecturer and Admissions Lead) to design the interview day. Applicants are now asked to prepare for their interview by watching a film which was created by the PIER partnership in collaboration with Healthwatch Dorset and BU academics. Applicants are required to discuss the film in their interview and respond to the following questions designed by PIER members.

• Watching the video by the BU PIER Partnership, what were your thoughts and feelings?

• Reflecting upon your life experience, how do you deal with difficult or challenging situations?

This year’s film was: A Lived Experience of Homelessness The nature of this approach meant that it could continue during Covid-19 restrictions when interviews were conducted online and by phone.

How do academics feel PIER involvement enhances the admissions process?

“The PIER Partnership is integral to the Social Work assessment process. Candidates become aware of the role of the PIER Partnership through access to the film; information made available on interview day and through discussion at interview. The adapted (to telephone) interview process has included discussion with individual candidates to introduce the PIER Partnership and members’ contribution to students’ learning, as well as signposting to the PIER resources page on the BU website. The evaluation of the interview days is underpinned by the questionnaire that candidates complete. The collated information is reviewed by me and Peter Atkins from the PIER partnership, and amendments to the assessment process are guided by the outcome of this discussion.”

Richard Williams, Senior Lecturer and Admissions Lead in Social Work

Involvement in health and social science research Historically, the majority of our work has been to support involvement in education. Throughout 2019-20 we have been moving towards a more equal balance between involvement in education and research. This has included working internally with the BU Clinical Research Unit (BUCRU) and BU Research Development and Support team to look at how we can support, collaborate and build on what already happens, to involve the public in research (often known as Patient and Public Involvement or PPI).

This has led to some exciting plans to design and deliver an online Masters unit on Public Involvement in Research and contribute to public involvement in research workshops as part of the BU Research and Knowledge Exchange Development Framework (RKEDF). These are being coproduced with PIER members and will be available online to colleagues and those in our national networks in 202021.

This work has led to an increased emphasis on the need for high quality public involvement in BU research funding bid applications. PIER information and guidance is now being included on internal funding application forms and on all Intention to Bid forms which academics in the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences are required to complete when developing an external research funding bid application.

This year, we were invited to engage in the selection process for applications for internal research funding and applications to host public engagement events. In 201920 we introduced a PIER Partnership ‘PPI request form’ to encourage academics to carefully consider the role of people with lived experience shaping and designing their study as a way of achieving maximum relevance and impact.

Increasingly we are able to bring together people with lived experience and academics to explore ideas at the earliest stages of the research cycle.

BU PIER Partnership’s expertise involves engaging marginalised groups and ensuring that those who are most affected by social and health inequalities lead the way in shaping responses to them. In 2019-20 we made the decision to align ourselves with the BU Research Centre for Seldom Heard Voices.

Collaborating with the centre enables us to increase our involvement in user-led and co-produced research, particularly with marginalised and seldom heard groups.

In 2019-20, this included collaboration with Middlesex University, Glasgow University, Queen Mary’s University London, Open University and Manchester University on a bid focusing on youth employment rights; a collaboration with Stockholm University and Tel Aviv University on a Journal Special Issue on public involvement; and a collaboration with Newcastle University, Imperial College London and social science and health researchers across England on engaging a wider range of voices in research. All of these collaborations are underpinned by co-produced research with people with lived experience.

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Creating films and resources Increasingly the PIER Partnership is becoming known for our development of films and resources sharing a range of lived experiences. This year was no exception. To date we have made 13 films, seven of which were co-produced in 2019-20. These have been shared and viewed online and used by a number of our national partners and networks.

A Lived Experience of Homelessness was nominated for a National Charity Film Award.

On receipt of support and funding from Healthwatch Dorset, we invited academics in the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences to pitch ideas for co-produced films on aspects of lived experience relevant to their teaching and research.

We received 25 suggestions leading to 12 fully developed proposals for digital stories and films. The following five projects were selected by a panel of PIER members and co-produced with people with lived experience; academics and BU media students:

Please click on the project name below to view the project video: A Lived Experience of Homelessness Transforming health through lifestyle change Living at home with an enteral tube Understanding self - management for people with a long term neurological condition End of Life from a Carer’s Perspective A Lived Experience of Homelessness

Living at home with an enteral tube

What do our community partners think?

“We’re really pleased that Healthwatch Dorset could help support these films, which provide such a valuable insight into real people’s lives and help to inform and educate those who are training in the health and social care sector. Sharing people’s stories is a powerful way to build understanding and influence change.

It was great to be able to work with Bournemouth University to create this series of films which have been shared with health and social care students and promoted in the wider community.”

Louise Bate (Healthwatch Dorset Manager).

“Having worked with many people over the years with brain injuries and Parkinsons, I felt they were superb from the perspective of the person affected.

Their voices and views were central, which was great..”

Philippa Geddes, Regional Engagement Lead (South East), Social Work England.

The launch of the films was also covered in the local press, including Bridport News and the Dorset Echo.

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Embracing digital technologies In 2019-20 we developed a working group of members to explore opportunities for staying connected and promoting the work of the PIER partnership using digital technologies. We are glad to have two members: Mandy Bond and Rachel Jury who have been fundamental in helping us to develop this. As a result, we launched the PIER Facebook page and Twitter account in 2019-20.

Mandy and Rachel provide advice on how we can use social media to effectively promote and celebrate what we do and along with Angela, manage these accounts on behalf of the group.

In the past year, particularly with the onset of Covid-19, this has become more important than ever. We have all had to adapt to life online and embrace digital technologies. Platforms such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams have, in some ways afforded the opportunity for more people to be involved form their own home, while on the other hand some may have felt more excluded and isolated if they are without a suitable device or a secure internet connection. We have endeavoured to keep in contact with everyone in a number of ways to enable all to participate.

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Our plans for next year Throughout this year we have been working as a core team and with our PIER members, practice partners and academic colleagues to identify our goals and priorities for the next five years as we develop our 2025 PIER partnership strategy.

Central to this will be our alignment with the Centre for Seldom Heard Voices and our goal to challenge health and social inequalities through the involvement of marginalised groups in health and social science education, research and practice.

Bournemouth University has already published its 2025 strategic plan which sets a clear vision where BU is ‘recognised world-wide as a leading university for inspiring learning, advancing knowledge and enriching society through the fusion of education, research and practice’ (BU2025 vision). The PIER strategy 2025 outlines our five year plan for ensuring that the expertise of people with lived experience (including patients, potential patients, carers and people who use or represent people who use, health and social care services) underpins and informs this vision.

2020-21 will be one of embracing change. In the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences we will move to the new Bournemouth Gateway Building. PIER members have been involved from the early design phases for the building by advising on accessibility and inclusive spaces. We are looking forward to benefitting from this when we move in.

We will continue to embrace digital technologies as we continue to work within Covid-19 restrictions but also as we seek to maintain the connections this has enabled us to strengthen and create during lockdown.

We will significantly increase our involvement in research activity by involving PIER members and partners in shaping and informing research across all stages of the research cycle from initial idea and applying for funding through to evaluating the impact of research findings (what difference did it make?). We are developing a range of inclusive methods for collaborating with a wider range of voices and our aim is to share these widely. We are excited to be working collaboratively with colleagues from across the University and partners from across the UK and internationally to develop this work.

The success of the BU PIER partnership is achieved due to our shared values of humanised and relationship based models of collaboration. Our work is based on respect and meaningful engagement where everyone involved feels valued and respected. We look forward to another successful year of working together in partnership, to achieve these goals.

Dr Mel Hughes, Academic Lead for the BU PIER Partnership Angela Warren and Pete Atkins, PIER co-ordinators

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Contact us Dr Mel Hughes mhughes@bournemouth.ac.uk Angela Warren awarren@bournemouth.ac.uk 07912 785009 Peter Atkins patkins@bournemouth.ac.uk 07806 774858

@serviceuserinvolvement @bu_pier

www.bournemouth.ac.uk/pier 20

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