The Faculty’s Social Responsibility (SR) and Civic Engagement (CE) plan outlines our commitment to driving positive environmental and social change for our local and global communities through our world-leading teaching, learning and research. To support this, the patient and public involvement and engagement (PPIE) forum, Co-Chaired by Professor Stephanie Snow, Academic Lead for Community Engagement and Involvement and Kay Gallacher, public contributor (PC), brings together PCs, University staff and students and external stakeholders to discuss and shape the Faculty’s PPIE priorities.   

The second forum meeting of the academic year was held online in January, with highlights including: an update from guest speaker, Stevie Shoop-Worrall, winner of the Health Care and Research Innovative Patient Involvement Award 2023, the University’s prestigious attainment of the NCCPE Platinum Engage Watermark and discussion on ‘Creating a PPIE Identity’.   

Stevie Shoop-Worrall, Medical Research Council Career Development Research Fellow in Epidemiology and Data Science in School of Biological Sciences, began the meeting by giving an update on her most recent PPIE work. Stevie’s research focuses on finding clusters of people with psoriatic arthritis who could benefit from different treatments. She involved children and young people with lived experience, co-developing machine learning methods and co-writing a paper on effective involvement of young people in complex research. Her research exemplifies a commitment to inclusivity in healthcare research. You can read more about Stevie’s impactful work in this blog. 

Next, forum members were informed of the University’s attainment of the NCCPE Platinum Engage Watermark in December, the highest honour for public engagement excellence. Projects from the PPIE Forum were acknowledged as crucial evidence and members were thanked for their valuable contribution and commitment. 

The Faculty’s upcoming flagship Bicentennial International Women’s Day Event was announced. On the 6th March, we will be joined by Professor Olive Mugenda, Vice Chancellor of Kenyatta University, where she will discuss her experiences of navigating challenges faced by women in the workplace. 

This year’s PPIE action plan initiated a discussion on ‘Creating a PPIE Identity.’ Members explored the benefits and purpose of PPIE from both staff and public contributors’ perspectives, emphasizing relevance to human benefit, inclusivity, and positive change and provided their insight into what they think the University’s PPIE should be recognised for. Join the conversation on our padlet.  

For information on previous Forums visit: October 2023, February 2023, November 2022, March 22, and January 2022. To find out more about PPIE: watch our short film, sign up to the monthly Public Engagement Digest, visit the PPIE blog, or contact srbmh@manchester.ac.uk.

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