By Ade Adebajo, Chair of the invoDIRECT task and finish group

What is invoDIRECT?

At INVOLVE, we know that there are many national and international groups and organisations  involved in working on public involvement in research. In fact, there are so many that it can be difficult to know which groups are interested in particular topics or which organisations work in a particular geographical area.

To address this issue we have developed a new online resource called invoDIRECT. This resource, which is viewable on INVOLVE’s website, is a searchable map which shows groups and organisations that support public involvement in research.

How was it developed?

I was the Chair of the INVOLVE task and finish group responsible for advising on this work. The group met a few times over the course of the past year and it was exciting to see ideas for this resource develop into the online map. The group, which included members of the public and researchers, thought through the features which would be most useful and how to make the map user-friendly.

Who is it for?

I believe that invoDIRECT will be particularly useful for anyone or any group wanting to find other groups or organisations that support or work in public involvement in research. Contact details are available to encourage people to get in touch with others on the map to discuss shared interests.

The map also encourages groups and organisations to let others know that they are out there and supporting or working in public involvement in research.

Key features

invoDIRECT is searchable by keyword or geographical location. It shows whether groups or organisations cover a local area or have national coverage. An exciting feature of invoDIRECT is a ‘worldwide’ area which displays groups and organisations working on public involvement in research outside the UK. This issue of the newsletter showcases the work of some international organisations and groups – in Australia, Denmark, the Netherlands and the United States. We will encourage these organisations and others to add their information to the map.

Add your information

To add your own details please visit www.invo.org.uk/find-out-more/invodirect. You will need to follow the links to ‘Add your details’ and complete the form. You will then receive a password enabling you to add or change the information about your group or organisation.

Visit invoDIRECT

You can view the resource at www.invo.org.uk/find-out-more/invodirect