PPI Ignite Network, a new national collaborative initiative putting patients at the centre of decision-making in research, has been launched at NUI Galway this week.
PPI - Public Patient Involvement - leads to research that is more transparent and relevant, answering questions that matter to the people who are the focus of the research, allowing them to shape and guide future directions with greater impact on policy and society.
Headquartered at NUI Galway, the PPI Ignite Network is a collaboration involving seven Irish universities and dozens of partner organisations, including patient groups, working together at a national and local level. It has a network of local, national, and international partners, an expanding group of PPI contributors, and it will operate on an all-island basis. The aim of the network is to ensure that people and patients are involved at every stage of health and social care research in Ireland, right from the start.
“’Nothing about us, without us’ resonates strongly with me and I particularly welcome the emphasis across the PPI Ignite Network on including historically marginalised groups in co-designing research,” said Minister of State for Disability Anne Rabbitte, who launched the network at NUI Galway on Tuesday. “Involving people who have not had a voice previously can help shape a different and healthier future for so many people in the coming decades. The PPI Ignite Network really is an investment in future health for all in this country.”
The focus of the PPI Ignite Network is to provide leadership in PPI in research and to provide increased opportunities for the public, patients, and carers to be at the centre of research decision-making, working with researchers to decide what issues are important to prioritise and how best to carry out research.
Professor Seán Dinneen, consultant endocrinologist with the Saolta University Healthcare Group and national lead for the PPI Ignite Network, said: “The PPI Ignite Network will drive excellence and inspire innovation, by embedding a culture of meaningful involvement of the public and patients in research.
“We are excited to drive PPI as an integral part of the research culture. It will help researchers develop the required skills and knowledge and it will help to broaden the number and diversity of active PPI contributors and enable the development of genuine and sustained partnerships between research teams and community organisations and charities.”
The PPI Ignite Network will have a strong focus on education and training, providing supports to researchers and PPI contributors, built around an online hub of case studies, information, and resources.
An online portal will go live later this year to help researchers and members of the public who are interested in getting involved in PPI to connect with each other.
“For over five years we have been championing PPI in research, and our work is clearly illustrating that people’s insights and life experience can inform research in ways researchers operating in isolation can’t,” said Dr Anne Cody, head of investigator-led grants, research careers, and enablers at the Health Research Board. “The PPI Ignite Network is bringing together key stakeholders committed to embedding involvement at the core of Irish research, a collaboration capable of facilitating significant positive change.”
