I am a mental health service user, and work as a freelance researcher, writer and trainer. I have worked in the mental health field for over 20 years and for most of the national mental health charities.

Much of my work has involved training and supporting service users to become involved in research and I have a particular interest in user-controlled research.

I have written and presented on public involvement in research as well as on various aspects of mental health policy, service delivery and personal experience.

I am a Reader in Applied Health Policy Research at the University of the West of England, Bristol. I undertake research on partnership, participation and involvement in health, including involvement in research. I am also the Programme Leader for the Masters in Public Health.

I became interested in promoting involvement in health in the 1980s when I was a nurse but also discovered I had a long term condition that required frequent interactions as a patient. My experience was that in those days, health professionals generally did not welcome shared decision making. As I became involved in research, my commitment to involvement naturally led me to support involvement in research.

In 2010 I started working as a freelance research management consultant in health and social care. Prior to that I managed and developed research at the UK-based cancer care charity Macmillan Cancer Support and for the Department of Health and NHS in the East of England. In my current work I look for opportunities with my clients to promote public involvement in their research.

At Macmillan I developed a research funding scheme with public involvement at its heart, as well as promoting involvement widely with researchers and funders. I have experience as a cancer carer and have lost a number of close family and friends to cancer. This was one of the main motivations for working for Macmillan and for my interest in the involvement of patients and the public in research and in the development and management of health services.

I am the Director of Research & Development for the North West Strategic Health Authority where I manage a team who work on building research activity in the region, supporting public involvement and strategic leadership. Since 1997 I have worked to support public involvement in research. I established the North West Users in Research Advisory Group.

Recently I have been leading work to establish a new region-wide forum to share good practice, support training and provide support to people in this field. I have had an active interest in public involvement and empowerment issues since I began my career in the charitable sector. I am an Honorary Senior Research Fellow at Manchester Business School. I have also held honorary posts at Lancaster University and Liverpool John Moores University and have been an external advisor to Macmillan Cancer Support and NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement.

I am a Senior Lecturer in Nursing at the University of Manchester and Head of the Long Term Conditions and Self Management Research Team. I have been actively involved in research since 1988 and my research focuses on living with, and clinical management of, long-term health problems. I have research expertise in service user participation. My particular areas of clinical interest are respiratory and renal disease.

I was a contributor to the National Health Service Executive/Asthma UK National Clinical Asthma Research Strategy and Chair of the Working Group which developed the Royal College of Nursing Position Statement on promoting nursing research in healthcare organisations. I have strong research collaborations nationally and internationally.

I am a freelance researcher with a particular interest in the involvement of children and young people in research. Until recently I was a Senior Research Officer at the National Children’s Bureau Research Centre, where I recruited, trained and supported young people’s involvement as young researchers and advisors, including supporting young people-led research and involvement in public health and clinical research.

Recent projects include training paediatric researchers in public involvement, managing a young people’s reference group on public health research and training and supporting a group of young disabled researchers. My background is in social care and disability research, with a particular interest in user involvement and participative methods.

I have worked as the Office Coordinator and Director’s PA at NIHR INVOLVE for 17 years. I am responsible for  day-to-day business activities and have Senior Secretariat & PA responsibility at Executive Board Level. I manage the organising of over 30 national meetings per year. I manage diaries, complex travel, meeting arrangements and support the logistics of  a busy office.

I have responsibility for managing budgets and procurement processes ensuring full compliance within organisational procedures. I ensure that the Director is informed on the progress of all projects to ensure they are delivered on time and within budget. I review and recommend changes to organisational policy and processes.

I have been a Line Manager for 13 years and have on-going recruitment responsibilities.

Email: sarah.bayliss@nihr.ac.uk

I work for the University of Leicester in the Department of Health Sciences. I am a GP by profession, but have been interested for a long time in ways to improve the quality of health care, and in consequence have spent a fair amount of time investigating patients’ experiences of care. I have been involved in studies that have included patients as co-applicants, as part of the research team, and as advisors.

My present role is as Director of the National Institute for Health Research Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (CLAHRC) for Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland. This is a large research programme planned to improve the use of research evidence by NHS organisations. 

I am a clinician involved with research at Barnsley Hospital and I lead a South Yorkshire Musculoskeletal Research Network. I also have a wider research role across Barnsley Hospital including membership of Barnsley Hospital Research Governance Committee. I am an Honorary Senior Lecturer and an Associate Director of Teaching for the University of Sheffield Medical School. I am Chair of the South Yorkshire Patient and Public Involvement Strategy Group.

I am Clinical patient and public involvement lead for both the South Yorkshire Comprehensive Local Research Network and the South Yorkshire Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care. I am also a member of the Health Services Research National Specialty Group for the NIHR Comprehensive Research Network and of the Yorkshire and Humber Research Design Service Patient and Public Involvement Forum. I have a particular interest in helping hard to reach groups to participate in all aspects of research.