Involvement that funders and ethics committees can trust
Meaningful PPI is an ongoing, evidenced relationship with the patients and public whose experience shapes your research — from framing the question to interpreting the findings.
More than a panel for a grant application
A one-off meeting can tick a box. It does not show that involvement changed the study, or that the same people stayed with you from application to dissemination. Thiscovery is built for that longer relationship — and for the audit trail that funders and ethics committees ask to see.
What this looks like on Thiscovery
Open a feature
Why a standing group beats a fresh panel every time
Recruiting from scratch for each study burns trust and time. A group people can join once becomes the home for that relationship — with discussions, a library, and a record of what happened next.
Asking the same people more than once
Surveys and panels on Thiscovery can run over time. That is how you show change, not just a snapshot for the application.
Consensus without flying everyone in
Consensus rounds let expert or lived-experience panels respond, see what others said, and refine their view — a Delphi-style process, run online.
A study that can be evidenced
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Frame the questionBring patients and public in while the study can still change shape.Completed
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Involve over timeSurveys, panels and group discussion with the same people, not a new list each quarter.Current
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Interpret togetherFindings go back to the people who contributed, in language they can use.Upcoming
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Show the trailProject records keep who approved what, for funders, ethics and your own team.Upcoming
The Primary Care Access Panel on this demo is a live example of asking the same community more than once.
A working example of a panel survey — the kind of instrument you would use to track involvement or an intervention over time.
Who this is for
Hear about PPI practice on Thiscovery
Leave your email if you want to hear when we publish more on this kind of work.
Questions people ask
Can contributors see what happened to their input?
Yes. A shared library of protocols, plain-language summaries and findings is part of the design — so involvement is not a black box.
Do people need an account to start?
They can browse as a guest. Joining is free when they want to stay part of a group or a panel over time.
Is this only for research?
Research is the usual home for PPI language. The same pattern — a standing group, repeated asking, a visible trail — is what NHS and charity partners use for service evaluation too.
See this on the platform
Talk to us about this work
Tell us who you want to bring together and what you need to show for it. A short conversation is usually enough to see whether this is the right fit.
Send email
Have a view on this?
If you run PPI, tell us what a trustworthy trail of involvement would need to show.
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