Wednesday 30, September 2026.

Kate started the meeting by welcoming all members.

The meeting objectives were to:

1. To discuss the findings and reflections from the evaluation that we carried out last year.
2. Enjoy lunch and a chat.  
3. Discuss a plan for going forwards.

Kate provided an overall summary of the findings then we went on to reflect on these findings and discuss how we could continue to grow and improve the group.

Areas that were described as working well included:

Communication – during and in between meetings. Email communication was generally considered effective and accessible.

Diversity and inclusion – The group has become more diverse over time in terms of age and ethnicity.Researchers highlighted this diversity as a major strength of working with the group.Accessibility measures, including notetaking and meeting support, were recognised as helping members participate fully.

Collaboration and partnership – Members and researchers both valued the collaborative approach.The group provides opportunities to work together to shape research projects, run events and engagement activities and work as partners.

Positive impact – Researchers reported benefits includingincreased confidence and skills in public involvement, improved research relevance and quality, better study design and more meaningful real-world application of research findings.

Members reported benefits such as: Meeting others with shared experiences, developing new knowledge and confidence, feeling their experiences are valued and useful.

Areas for improvement included:

Training opportunities – Both researchers and members felt there could be more training opportunities to support involvement and skill development.

Meeting scheduling – this was mentioned by some researchers and group members. Some challenges remain around organising meetings, room bookings and attendance.

Reimbursement – Members noted that reimbursement processes have improved since we discussed this a year ago but could still be streamlined further.

Visibility of public involvement – Researchers felt public involvement and engagement work should have a higher profile across the university.

There was also discussion about helping members better understand the impact they have on research projects. In the meeting, group members said they would more feedback from researchers about the changes made, project progress, grants won. Providing this feedback would give further encourage involvement. The feedback would just be written feedback.

After a relaxed lunch where we all got to have a chat, in smaller groups we went on to discuss the future development of the group. Suggestions included: better use of member’s skills, better use of the website and digital content and suggestions for how we could further grow the group.

Kate closed the meeting by thanking everyone for their valuable contributions and handed out expense forms.

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