Maryrose Tarpey is Assistant Director at the INVOLVE Coordinating Centre with the lead for policy and evidence. She supports the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Research Programmes developing public involvement in their commissioning policies and practices. Maryrose also works on a range of projects for INVOLVE contributing to evidencing the impact of public involvement in health and social care research.  

 We still face basic challenges to the way in which we approach the ‘what, why, how, when’ type questions that make it difficult to research and report the impacts of public involvement in – and on – research.  The absence of recording and links to information on public involvement activities in different stages of a single research study was cited as an example of how difficult it is to assess or predict impact. Also the paradox of, on the one hand, encouraging researchers to actively involve people in their research by saying that whilst they do indeed need to think,  plan and resource the involvement, it is not complicated in practice – and on the other hand claiming it’s a complex activity to research!  

 From INVOLVE’s perspective, it was apparent that invoNET should continue to:

• provide invoNET members opportunities for shared learning and networking as well as encourage collegiate working on the development of methods; and
• maintain the Evidence Library and other resources available on the INVOLVE website about the recording and reporting of impacts of public involvement in research.