In order to highlight the range and excellence of Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE) projects taking place across the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health (FBMH), we turn the spotlight on our staff, students and members of the public (Public Contributors).

For our first ‘Spotlight on…’ article, we would like to use this opportunity to introduce the Faculty’s Social Responsibility and Public Engagement (SRPE) team members whose roles focus on PPIE to our blog readers.

The SRPE Team enables, engages and embeds Social Responsibility (SR) and PPIE in FBMH through a diverse range of projects and events. Involving patients and the public and sharing our knowledge is important to us because so much of what we do as a Faculty, from teaching clinical skills to scientific breakthroughs in the lab, has the potential to affect the lives of millions of people both in our local communities and further afield.

The SRPE Team colleagues focused on PPIE includes:

Dr Stephanie Snow

Stephanie is a historian of medicine and healthcare and the Faculty’s Academic Lead for Community Engagement and Involvement (CEI). She works across the Faculty to promote the PPIE agenda, and supports the Faculty’s Schools and Divisions in embedding PPIE in their teaching and research. Her work on stroke has led to an ongoing collaboration with the Stroke Association to produce a series of workshops where undergraduate students from different healthcare courses and stroke survivors explore stroke together through art. She is also the project director of NHS at 70: The Story of our Lives, which is a project collecting stories and memorabilia from people who worked or were cared for by the NHS since its creation in 1948 to mark the 70^th anniversary of the NHS. The project is also expanding to collate coronavirus (Covid-19) focussed stories to capture the unique moment in the history of public health.

Dr Hawys Williams

Hawys is the Faculty’s SRPE Manager and manages the SRPE team. Hawys originally trained as a research scientist working in labs and has since worked in project management, ethics and governance and PPIE in Higher Education, the NHS and in the third sector (Arthritis Research UK). When not at work, she volunteers as a GirlGuiding Leader.

Samantha Franklin

Sam is the Social Responsibility Project Officer with a specific focus on PPIE. Since December 2018, Sam has been involved with managing several projects including the Public Contributor Induction guide, PPIE Celebration event, the Public Contributor Induction Session, and the PPIE Toolkit.

Anna Kell

Anna is the Public Engagement and Communications Intern for the 2019/2020 academic year. Since September 2019, Anna has supported the SRPE team in their events including the annual Linnean Society Lecture and International Women’s Day, and she manages the PPIE blog and Public Engagement Digest.

Kay Gallacher

Kay is Co-Chair of the Faculty’s PPIE Forum (see below) and has been a Public Contributor on many research projects during her involvement. Kay is the lead Public Contributor on a project developing a handbook and app for users of primary care services, and is currently involved with six other projects. Having a marketing and communications background, Kay likes to apply her skills to ensure that research findings are written in plain English and are accessible to the general public. One of her personal objectives is to get more members of the public involved in research, particularly those from under represented communities.

The Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement PPIE Forum

The PPIE Forum (formerly the Social Responsibility Public Engagement Forum) was formed when the Faculty of Medical Human Sciences and the Faculty of Life Sciences merged in 2016. The Forum, co-chaired by Stephanie and Kay, features representation from PPIE and SR Leads across the Faculty, Public Contributors, staff and students involved with PPIE .

During the Forum meetings, members evaluate the Forum’s outputs, discuss upcoming initiatives and future actions, hear divisional updates from the members in attendance, and guest speakers are also invited to present on a topic relating to Social Responsibility or PPIE.

The SRPE team supports staff, students and Public Contributors with their PPIE by providing advice, training, support and signposting people to information and resources. For more information about PPIE events, training and funding opportunities, you can sign up to our monthly digest, visit our website, follow us on twitter or email srbmh@manchester.ac.uk. For further PPIE resources, visit the Faculty’s PPIE Toolkit.

Related