On Wednesday 26th June, the AMRG team hosted a very successful Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE) Showcase event at the Trinity Arts and Community Centre. Members of several community partnership organisations joined researchers, other staff and postgraduate students from the Universities of Bristol and West of England and the NHS to share best practice in how research is conducted with community partners and the public across the city.
The event kicked off with some networking over a delicious lunch from anti-slavery caterers, Houria CIC, whose founder, University of Bristol alumnus Kim Prado, introduced Houria, their ethos, and the food (see the mouthwatering menu below!).
Towards the end of lunch, Members of the Misfits Theatre Company performed a moving and impactful piece about their experiences of life with disabilities.
The AMRG’s Dr Katie Lloyd then introduced Professor Palie Smart, the University of Bristol’s Associate Pro-Vice Chancellor for Global Civic Engagement, for the opening address, which was followed by a packed programme of talks and panel discussions. A diverse array of speakers shared their experiences of involving the public in research and how to work effectively with different communities, with a focus on under-served groups.
We heard from representatives from groups and faculties at the University of Bristol, UWE and Cardiff University, as well as from The Health Ambassadors Scheme, Black and Brown in Bioethics, Caafi Health, Bristol Black Carers, Dhek Bhal, Bristol Health Partners, the Diverse Research Engagement Network, Parkinson’s UK and NIHR Applied Research Collaboration West. The full programme can be viewed here.
There was also time between sessions for some questions from the audience, ably answered by speakers and panel members. We are hugely grateful to everyone who came along to share their expertise.
We were lucky to have illustrator Camille Aubry join us to capture the event through live illustration. We absolutely love her finished piece which superbly summarises the learnings from the day:
The event was funded from Katie’s grant award from the University of Bristol’s Enhancing Research Culture fund. Katie and her team worked hard to deliver the event and are delighted that it went so well and received some great feedback from the attendees. Some of the feedback was used to create the below word cloud which we think captures the spirit of the event!
Some of the leaves:
