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National showcase of Patient and Public Involvement takes place in Stirling next month

National showcase of Patient and Public Involvement takes place in Stirling next month

18th February 2025

NHS Research Scotland (NRS) is ensuring that patient and public voices are heard in research across the country with a second landmark showcase of patient and public involvement initiatives

The Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) Event 2025 will take place at Stirling Court Hotel — part of the University of Stirling Campus — on Tuesday 11 March, hosted by NRS and the Chief Scientist Office (CSO) of Scottish Government.

PPI partners, professionals, researchers, including early career researchers, and policymakers working in the area, and with an interest around developing their PPI practice and activities, are encouraged to attend and can now register.

The day will coincide with the third anniversary of the Shared Commitment to Public Involvement in health and social care research — a bold commitment, signed by NRS, CSO and other leading organisations and partner nations to drive up standards in health and social care research.

The standards recognise that delivering better research which meets the diverse needs of patients and communities means putting people first, ensuring a wider spectrum of voices are heard and play a meaningful part in shaping health and social care research.  

Following last year’s successful gathering in Dundee, the 2025 event offers a larger venue with an expanded programme — shaped by Scotland’s vibrant PPI community — providing improved interactivity, increased networking and learning opportunities.

It will bring together speakers from NHS, academia, and the third sector, as well as public contributors, and early career researchers — all united in ambitions to improve the quality of PPI in research.

NRS considers it vital that patients and the public play a prominent role in the research that affects them in order to accelerate studies and improve access, inclusivity, and diversity.

These topics and many more will be explored next month, with the programme providing a dynamic, diverse mix of six workshop sessions, including:

  • Ethical patient and public involvement
  • Impact of Sports-Based Reminiscence on Health and Wellbeing
  • Thinking about impact and evaluation
  • Using the Arts to Enhance Patient and Public Involvement in Research
  • Your Trial, Your Choice: Exploring convenient locations for clinical trials
  • Using storytelling and videos to explore lived experience perspectives in research

These sessions will last one hour, offering an in-depth exploration of the topic and will promote knowledge transfer, skills development, and collaborative learning among participants and workshop facilitators.

Complementing the workshops, a further six oral sessions will see multiple presenters come together to showcase projects and initiatives focused on:

  • Working with underserved groups and communities
  • Patient and public involvement for future health delivery
  • Patient and public involvement in data science research
  • Involving children and young people
  • Involving people in potentially sensitive research
  • Patient and public involvement in neurological research

A showcase of projects will also be available for viewing throughout the day via a poster showcase, with a dedicated session running after lunch.

Also speaking at the event will be Zoe Gray, Deputy Director for Public Partnerships at the National institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), who is responsible for shaping the organisation’s PPI strategy, policy, and procedures.

Carol Porteous, PPI Lead at NRS, chaired last year’s event, and said: “It is pleasing to note that high quality PPI is now widely recognised as an essential cornerstone for the success of health and social care research, not to mention an integral way of improving its impact.

“PPI is also a rapidly evolving area, and the event provides an excellent opportunity to bring the community together, demonstrate growth and success across many areas of PPI, while also highlighting exciting new developments and areas we can learn from each other to support further improvements.

“By unifying researchers, patients, carers, family and those with an interest in health research, we hope to provide a platform to forge new connections, share knowledge, and encourage all to take away fresh learnings, and I’m grateful for the support of the NRS community in making it possible to host the event again, and on a larger scale.

“Demand to attend was significant last year, so I would urge attendees to register early and contribute to this vital conversation.”

Alan Johnstone, Senior Community Volunteer with Alzheimer Scotland, Aberdeen FC Community Trust and Memories Scotland has been part of shaping the day and will present on ‘The Impact of Sports-Based Reminiscence on Health and Wellbeing’

He said: “We are grateful to have the opportunity of sharing our experiences as part of a constructive discussion which will highlight the benefits of efforts to support those affected by dementia throughout Scotland’s communities.

“The Football Memories project was first piloted in Scotland in 2008 as a form of reminiscence therapy. That concept has since steadily grown across the country and developed to incorporate other sports and social memories, with sessions delivered in a range of environments including sporting stadia, care homes, hospitals, and community centres.

“The target audience is now more inclusive, and we welcome those struggling with social isolation, loneliness, mental health issues and other conditions, and our session will outline the evolution of the programme, the vital importance of collaboration and partnership, and benefits to participants, But importantly it will be an opportunity for interactive discussion and exchange of views which will help explore untapped and innovative opportunities for reminiscence therapy to be used to support the health and wellbeing of our communities.”

If you have any queries on the event, please contact communications@nrs.org.uk.

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