Resources

Think about the resources you might need and how you might access them:

Money

If you are going to run a meeting or other face-to-face event, you’ll need a budget. Even if you’re planning to run virtual meetings (e.g. using Zoom or similar), you may need some money to upgrade software. There’s more about this on the planning for involvement page. Before you start your detailed planning, think about where you might access funds. Options include:

• If you’re applying for funding for your research, include PPI costs in the overall application

• If you are planning on making a funding application to the NIHR, a Research Council, or another open, national, peer-reviewed funding programme, Research Design Services have funding available to involve patients, carers and members of the public at the research design stage.

• The PPI or patient engagement team at your university may also have funds available

• Your research team may have small amounts of funding available

Time

Be aware that successful PPI requires a time commitment. It’s impossible to say exactly how much - it will depend on the type of activity you are planning and the support you may get from PPI staff and other colleagues.

“It can take a lot of time. By that, I mean preparation, making sure that you are pitching presentations etc. at the correct level. It isn't something that should be viewed as a 5-10 minute task to make the presentation slides. Just because it is a lay presentation doesn't mean it should be rushed... It’s time consuming but definitely worth it!” (Rachel Hughes, researcher)