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The NIHR provides national standards and policies for payment of public partners
Planning
The first step in seeking to involve or engage members of the public in your work is to decide on how much budget you will need and plan sufficient time to obtain funding.
Some key considerations when looking to engage and involve public partners are:
Before recruitment - inform them of how much to expect for their time and predicted payment time-frames;
As soon as possible - provide the forms and information for people to fill in and claim for their time and expenses, including a named point of contact. Offer support to complete this process if needed;
As soon as possible - confirm receipt of the claim form. You will need to check the forms have been completed correctly and remind public partners of the expected time frame for reimbursement;
Don't delay - some people will respond faster than others so don't delay submitting claim forms until you have them all. Submit them as soon as they are received and checked by your team;
Follow up - send an email or call those who might be having trouble submitting their claims. They may need some help to complete them.
Some additional important points that may be applicable to your activity are:
How will their payments be paid to them? (BACS transfer, vouchers etc.)
Will they need to complete any additional paperwork and do you have this available? (e.g. IR35 exemption form)
What personal information will they need to provide to make a claim?
How will you keep any personal information safe and store/delete this information in accordance with GDPR?
Will they need any additional support to participate? (travel, access needs, subsistence)
Remember that some public partners cannot receive payments or do not wish to due to personal circumstances or preferences. Please discuss this with your participants and contact the RDNCC PPIE Team with any queries in this instance.
In cases where further guidance is required, a Benefits Advice Service is provided by NIHR nationally through CED. This is open to members of the public who are involved in, or considering involvement in research with the NIHR. For more information on how to access this service, please contact the NIHR Centre for Engagement and Dissemination at ced@nihr.ac.uk or call 020 88437117.
NIHR budgeting tools
To help you plan for how much budget you will need for your PPIE activities, there are some helpful guides available:
NIHR Payment guidance for members of the public considering involvement in research (includes advice for members of the public in receipt of welfare benefits)
The University of Leeds hosted staff
The NIHR RDNCC PPIE Team has developed specific payment guidance for University of Leeds (UoL) hosted colleagues:
If you are hosted by a different organisation ensure that you have an agreement with your organisation/ team's finance department about the payment process for public partners before approaching them to take part.
Further information: payment guidance (NIHR) for public partners
In 2021, the NIHR Centre for Engagement and Dissemination (CED), in collaboration with the NIHR ARC South London PPIE Research Team, launched a new NIHR-wide, public partners payment guidance document.
In the webinar, Silvia Bortoli, Senior Public Involvement Manager at NIHR CED, talks through the process undertaken to develop the guidance, why it was important, and the key points to consider when seeking to involve the public in your work.
Topics include: developing a payment policy, budgeting for involvement, and considering the tax and employment status of public partners.
NIHR budgeting tools
HRA guidance on Payment for public involvement in health and care research: A guide for organisations on employment status and tax: This guide provides a clear framework for organisations to develop simple and timely payment policies. It includes guidance on employment status, tax and the impact on welfare benefits. This was produced jointly with the NIHR, and Health and Care Research Wales for organisations that pay public contributors as part of their involvement in research.
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