PPIE placement scheme

Are you funded by the SPCR Capacity programme? You can now apply to take on a SPCR PPIE placement

There are pockets of amazing, creative and inclusive patient and public involvement, public engagement and community engagement projects happening across the SPCR membership.

Skills and expertise to initiate, develop and facilitate involvement and engagement activities are often learned on the job. However, it is difficult to be aware of the best practices happening across the SPCR and know who might be able to support an early career researcher in developing these skills further.

The SPCR is launching a pilot scheme for a Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE) placement opportunity. The scheme will allow SPCR Trainees (School funded PhD students and recipients of a Fellowship) to take on a placement at a School member to learn from their involvement and engagement work. The scheme will aim to:

• Identify best practices of PPIE across the SPCR and raise their awareness and profile within the School
• Supporting best practices of PPIE by enabling additional support and capacity to develop and deliver their activities
• Improve PPIE skills amongst SPCR Trainees by learning from researchers and PPIE professionals from outside their organisation
• Create new relationships within the School amongst those leading in inclusive and creative PPIE

Those successful in securing a placement position will not become employed by the university where their placement take place, but will receive a bursary of £650 to cover any travel and subsistence costs to attend relevant (in-person) meetings and events during the placement.

Projects available

Four projects have been selected to participate in the trial and open up their project and host a placement. During the placement you will temporarily join the team to learn from and with them.

Each project is different in it's nature and the duration varies between 4 - 12 months. You will have at least one supervisor who will be the main point of contact and support throughout the placement. During your placement you will play an active part in developing, organising, delivering and evaluating the involvement/ engagement activities. You wouldn't be involved in doing the research, but will focus on the involvement/ engagement work, support the supervisor and wider team in their tasks, work with them and where feasible take responsibility for actions.

You would be expected to commit up to 2 hours per week on supporting the placement project, though this could increase in the run-up to an event. Before applying for a placement place, you will need to discuss this with your supervisor or line manager.

To share your learnings of your placement and learn from the other placement experiences, you will work jointly with everyone who took on a placement and the SPCR PPIE Manager to deliver a session or workshop during the annual trainees event in September 2023.

If you would like more information about a project, please reach out to the supervisor(s) directly. 

You can only take up one placement at the time. However, if several of the projects appeal to you, there is the option to apply for multiple projects. The supervisors of the projects will meet to decide whom has been successful in their application.

Apply for a placement

Deadline for applications to take on a SPCR PPIE placement is Monday 25th July (13.00h). To apply, a completed application form needs to be emailed to the SPCR PPIE Manager, Esther van Vliet (e.van.vliet@keele.ac.uk). 

Download the application form to take on a placement 

If you have any questions about the SPCR PPIE Placement scheme, please contact Esther. Every applicant will be informed on whether they have been successful or not by 5th of August.