VOICE Collaborators Brochure

Creative.

Innovative.

Collaborative.

VOICE IS A PATIENT AND PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT AND ENGAGEMENT (PPI/E) NETWORK AND DIGITAL PLATFORM ESTABLISHED AT NEWCASTLE UNIVERSITY IN 2007. WE HARNESS THE IMMENSE EXPERIENCE, INSIGHTS AND IDEAS OF THE PUBLIC TO IMPROVE RESEARCH AND STIMULATE INNOVATION.

VOICE now operates across the UK to help members of the public to have early input into idea development, setting the agenda for health and ageing across the life course, based on identified needs and priorities of patients and the public.

VOICE is particularly useful for priority setting, high quality Patient and Public Involvement (PPI), Public Engagement (PE), research dissemination and adoption. VOICE members contribute to all stages of the research and innovation process, incorporating co-design and co-delivery.

The VOICE model of working is based on over a decade of experience to support members of the public to be meaningfully involved and know how valued their contribution is.

Our digital platform is a unique tool to facilitate high quality involvement, to reach and sustain a large active community, and to support a genuine knowledge exchange with patients and members of the public.

“We have been at the forefront of the growth in Patient and Public Involvement for more than a decade.

VOICE is our way of valuing the extraordinary energy and commitment that so many patients and members of the public invest. By working together and creating connections, we are much more than the sum of our parts�

Professor Lynne Corner Director, VOICE

OUR ETHOS & VALUES

Experience Matters We value lived and professional experience and the mental capital of citizens accumulated over the life-course.

We are multidisciplinary by nature and value cross fertilisation of ideas and approaches.

Needs and Priorities Matter We are about identifying citizens’ key needs and priorities and working in collaboration with whoever can best help us to meet those needs. Our ethos is centred around co-design and co-development.

Knowledge Matters We believe in a true exchange with citizens, researchers and businesses, creating opportunities to share the latest knowledge and thinking. We provide opportunities to engage in meaningful dialogue and encourage people to think differently.

Diversity Matters We believe that a greater diversity of viewpoints can enhance research and innovation. Involvement should be accessible to everyone, we aim to broaden the diversity of those involved in our activities and strive to create a culture of inclusion.

Aspiration Matters We want to foster a positive culture of aspiration and innovation, so we ask ‘What if?’ not simply endorsing and accepting what currently is. We are interested in what is possible and are future looking.

Challenge Matters The organisation was built to create a culture of challenge and critique.

Our intention is that this combined culture of deep thinking and thought leadership can help deliver different insights as to what is needed and then co-develop innovative solutions.

AN INNOVATIVE DIGITAL PLATFORM

We have invested significantly to be able to explore new and innovative ways of working to involve people who might otherwise be excluded. Improving infrastructure and systems to facilitate public involvement and collaboration has enabled us to work and report on activity more efficiently.

The VOICE Digital Platform is co-designed with members of the public and is under constant development to ensure an intuitive user journey.

The VOICE Digital Platform was launched in autumn 2016 to scale our public involvement and engagement activity.

Through the platform we reach and sustain a huge community of people interested in getting involved in research and innovation.

On the ground activity can now be supported digitally, which has contributed to a growing number and range of people becoming involved.

Through the digital platform we coordinate a broad range of activity to engage, involve and share knowledge with the public, including but not limited to, workshops, events, opportunities to participate as healthy volunteers, online discussion groups, blogs and e-learning courses.

We ensure that VOICE members have regular opportunities to gain and exchange knowledge; increasing the opportunity to be meaningfully involved with cutting-edge science.

The platform has enabled us to make connections, following research from inception to dissemination and beyond.

This helps us to ensure people are truly valued for their contribution.

Images opposite: Thomas Angus, Imperial College London.

“I was involved in the design of the platform. Before this there was nothing bringing PPI/E together. There have always been amazing projects going on, but you had to know where to look, and generally be available to take part in person. We made the platform and now we want others to benefit from our hard work.�

Paul VOICE Member

CREATIVE. INNOVATIVE. COLLABORATIVE.

VOICE is collaborating with organisations across the UK who see the value in meaningful patient & public involvement. With our combined knowledge and resources, we can create a greater impact to benefit research and society.

By collaborating you are joining a network with decades of experience, national reach and a real passion to set the agenda for high quality public involvement. By becoming a collaborator, your organisation can benefit from access to the VOICE Digital Platform to organise and run your PPI/E programme.

Academics benefit from the wide range of methods to involve people at scale, and ensure that research findings reach the people who will benefit most from them. Building and sustaining an active and diverse PPI community and involving people in a worthwhile way takes coordination and resource.

Through VOICE we can all benefit from a collaborative approach. With the VOICE Digital Platform, members of the public have a clear route to get involved and find opportunities of interest.

Together, we can sustain large local communities of people through a broad range of activity available to take part in, either in person or remotely, and ensure members feel valued through access to feedback.

With our collaboration partners, we are constantly developing new methods and tools to improve and simplify the organisation and administration of PPI for researchers and local coordinators.

We work together to improve infrastructure and systems to facilitate public involvement and collaboration between researchers and the public.

We support creative and novel methods to complement traditional approaches to PPI, innovating and sharing good practice from around the UK and beyond.

VOICE is already partnered with the NIHR Innovation Observatory to ensure new research is needs-led, and the National Innovation Centre for Ageing to drive innovation, creating impact and tackling a global societal challenge. We have an increasing number of collaborations with NIHR infrastructure organisations and Universities—developing the VOICE community across the UK and connecting PPI/E activity.

CREATING MEANINGFUL INVOLVEMENT “Having access to VOICE has made it easier for our researchers to involve diverse audiences and unique communities in their research. We’ve used the platform to survey public opinion, improve the appropriateness of research plans, find people to join advisory groups and much more. This could be the start of a new era of public involvement!”

Philippa Pristerà, PhD Research Associate and VOICE at Imperial Lead

BY COLLABORATING WITH VOICE, YOUR ORGANISATION CAN EXPERIENCE A RANGE OF BENEFITS THAT WILL HAVE A GENUINE IMPACT TO COMPLEMENT YOUR CURRENT PPI/E APPROACH.

JOIN A NATIONAL NETWORK OF COLLABORATORS All working towards common, mutually beneficial goals: Growing a national community of engaged, informed patients and public Improving the quality of PPI/E by sharing and accessing learning resources Coordinating PPI/E activity across the UK

TECHNICAL & PROMOTIONAL SUPPORT VOICE Head Office will ensure you, and the patients and public you involve and engage with, are fully supported by: Offering troubleshooting support for members and collaborators accessing and using the digital platform Looking after and constantly developing the digital infrastructure to support meaningful PPI/E Providing access to promotional materials and branding to assist in the recruitment of local patients and public

COORDINATE & MANAGE YOUR PPI/E ACTIVITY VIA THE VOICE DIGITAL PLATFORM Upload, promote and manage opportunities through a dedicated collaborator dashboard Establish and manage online groups to coordinate and grow existing PPI/E panels; easily sharing meeting documents, lay summaries and other group resources whilst offering a mechanism to facilitate discussions outside of face-to-face meetings Run webinars and host live streamed events to a national audience easily and effectively Quickly access metrics and analytics relating to your opportunities and content, supporting evaluation of activity Easily provide feedback to patients and public who have been involved in PPI/E activity Upload and share learning and training resources from your organisation – including the ability to design and run online courses, hosted and delivered through the digital platform

Find out more: E: hello@voice-global.org T: 0191 208 1288

www.voice-global.org

Established at