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Checklist for researchers

Before you complete the form please consider the following points:

  • Why do you want to involve members of the public in your work?
  • Who do you want to involve, do they need to have particular skills eg committee skills, I.T. skills, experience of public involvement in research?
  • Consider writing a job/role description so people are clear on what they are being asked to do and to help you think through any special skills that you are looking for.
  • Who are the most appropriate people to involve?
  • How many people are you looking to involve?
  • Do you have sufficient resources to pay for service user involvement in the project eg travel, childcare or carer costs, postage and telephone costs, accommodation and payment for time.
  • Provision of training and staff time for supporting the people involved

When completing the form please include information on:

  • What kind of work are you asking people to do
  • If this is work that can be done from home or do people need to travel
  • Do they need access to the internet
  • What is the commitment of the work eg how long is the project and how many meetings a year or how many hours will the work take
  • Who else will be involved in the project
  • Deadline for applications
  • any restrictions eg England only or must be in the South West
  • what will be the benefit to them eg part of a team, meeting new people, training and new skills
  • what they can expect once they have applied
  • when the work will start
  • a link to further information on either the organisation or the research project

Plan, consider and resource the response to your advert.  You might not get a response but you might get 50!  Have you planned the time and resources for:

•    reviewing applications
•    identifying your criteria for choosing the people to get involved
•    responding to applicants and any interview processes

The following INVOLVE publications will help you think through some of these questions:

Further examples of job descriptions can be found

Page last edited: 25 November 2011