Co-Production

People in Health West of England Learning and Development Programme: Co-Production

This interactive course is designed to support you in exploring co-production within health research. It offers a collaborative space to discuss your own co-production project, share experiences, and work through any challenges you may be facing.

To make the most of our time together, we ask participants to review the NIHR Guidance on Co-Producing a Research Project and watch the accompanying short videos before attending. This will help maximise opportunities for meaningful discussion and peer learning during the face-to-face session.

Together, through the pre-course materials and in-person training, we will explore key aspects of co-production in health research, including:

• What is co-production?
• Why co-produce?
• When to co-produce?
• The principles of co-production
• Putting principles into practice

Preparation for the workshop:

We ask course participants to familiarise themselves with the NIHR Guidance on co-producing a research project, alongside some short videos (links will be sent prior to the session), before attending the course so that we can maximise sharing and discussion time when we meet face to face.

Who can attend?

Anyone with an interest in public involvement in health and social care research, including public contributors, community organisations and researchers.

This event will be in-person only. The building is fully accessible. Further details on the workshop and venue will be provided at least one week prior to the event.

About the trainers

This course is taught by:

· Darren Bagnall has been actively engaged with the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) West for several years, contributing significantly to various projects. He played a pivotal role in co-designing harm reduction materials and was heavily involved in developing ARC West training and resources in co-production. Additionally, Darren serves on the Public Health Research Oversight Group and is a valued member of the NIHR ARC West Public Involvement Strategy Group.

· Lucy Condon is the Public and Patient Involvement and Engagement Facilitator at ARC West and co-lead of Bristol’s Generation-R Young People’s Advisory Group (YPAG). She supports ARC West's public contributors and researchers with their public involvement practices and has a particular interest in how creative processes can be used within public involvement to help facilitate meaning practice.

· Michelle Farr, Senior Research Fellow at ARC West, has been working within the co-production area for 17 years, and has co-ordinated different co-production projects within health inequalities and multiple disadvantage. She is an applied health researcher with a background in sociology and public services management. Michelle is currently working on a public engagement project to explore how to equalise power relations in co-produced health research, and how to evidence the impact of co-produced research.

· Faiza Gul is a Research Associate in Public Involvement at the University of the West of England. Faiza's work focuses on involving diverse communities in research to ensure inclusive and impactful outcomes. She is passionate about improving public health through collaborative and evidence-based approaches. In her role as a Research Associate at UWE, Faiza supports researchers and academics to embed meaningful involvement of patients, communities, and the public throughout the research process. Her work helps ensure that research is not only scientifically robust but also ethically grounded, culturally sensitive, and relevant to the communities it aims to serve.

· Mari-Rose Kennedy is qualitative researcher with ARC West working in public involvement. She is currently working as a Senior Research Associate on the Health Research Ambassador project with community partner CaafiHealth, an initiative to increase connections between underserved communities and research. Mari is also working with university- and community- based colleagues to expand the Health Ambassador model, focusing on knowledge mobilisation activities, and coordinates the 'My Friday Coffee Morning - Barton Hill'. Mari’s research interests include public involvement, health inequalities and provision of health and social care, responsible research and innovation, research integrity and ethics.

· Carmel McGrath is a Senior Research Fellow in Public Involvement and co-leads public involvement across the NIHR ARC West and the NIHR Health Protection Research Unit in Evaluation and Behavioural Science. Carmel has experience of co-producing projects and training with public contributors who have a range of experiences and backgrounds. She co-leads People in Health West of England alongside Andy Gibson.

About People in Health West of England

People in Health West of England (PHWE) are a University of the West of England-based organisation which exists to promote and facilitate patient and public involvement and engagement (PPIE) in health research. We seek to promote a collaborative approach to the representation of the patient and public voice for better involvement, better research and better health outcomes for all.

The aims of these biannual workshops are to:

• Strengthen the PPIE community of practice across the West of England region in health and social care research
• Help clinicians, researchers and public contributors gain a better understanding of what PPIE is and involves
• Develop PPI skills and expertise

All workshops within this series are free, but spaces are limited.