RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences will participate in the latest phase of the national public and patient involvement ‘Ignite’ Network, announced by the Health Research Board (HRB).

The HRB will fund €2.3 million for the PPI Ignite Network. An additional €1m and €1.7m co-funding will come from the Irish Research Council (IRC) and the network’s lead sites respectively, leading to a total budget of €5m over five years.

The HRB PPI Ignite Network is a collaboration between seven Irish universities and a total of over 60 partner organisations, including patient organisations, participating at both national and local levels. 

Public and patient involvement (PPI) in research involves patients and members of the public working in partnership with research teams to determine research priorities and how best to carry out that research.

RCSI is one of seven PPI Ignite Network sites, coordinated by NUIG and including TCD, UCC, DCU, UCD and UL. Through the network, RCSI will build its internal PPI capacity and develop innovative new PPI programmes both locally and across the network.

RCSI will co-lead a work package that seeks to embed PPI locally and nationally; sustaining existing successful initiatives and developing new, innovative forms of PPI implementation.

Local RCSI partners include FutureNeuro, the SFI Research Centre for Chronic and Rare Neurological Diseases hosted by RCSI, HSE Digital Transformation, Alpha-1 Foundation Ireland, RCSI Clinical Research Centre and the Irish Heart Foundation. 

Professor Gianpiero Cavalleri, RCSI PPI Ignite Network Site Lead, commented: “The PPI National Network represents a fantastic opportunity to grow and evolve RCSI research in partnership with patient and public contributors in a manner that enhances the impact and value of our collective efforts.”

Professor Fergal O’Brien, Director of Research and Innovation at RCSI, said: “As a health sciences-focused university, RCSI recognises the importance of placing the voice of the patient at the heart of its research and education activities. Deepening patient engagement is one of our core strategic objectives and we have already established structures and collaborations to involve patients and the public in our research.

“The RCSI activities as part of the PPI Ignite Network, under the leadership of Professor Gianpiero Cavalleri, will play an important role in prioritising the needs of patients and the public further, to drive innovations that transform healthcare and improve quality of life for communities.”

Commenting on the announcement, Mairead O’Driscoll, CEO, HRB, said: “Involving people in the work we do and the work we fund leads to improved research, improved outcomes and improved lives. People’s insights and life experience can inform the work in ways researchers operating in isolation can’t.

“This new PPI Ignite Network is the next step in the HRB’s national leadership of involving people in research. Working with the Irish Research Council and all the partner institutions, we are helping to ensure that people and patients are involved at every stage of Irish health and social care research, right from the start, before pen is even put to paper for a research proposal.”