Building PPI capacity
Working together to educate PPI leaders
A group of 42 Network members, (academics, charity representatives, and PPI contributors) collaborated to co-develop a new, accredited PPI module for postgraduate students. In 2024 and 2025, PPI Ignite Network staff, other academics and PPI contributors worked together to deliver the module to PhD scholars at UCC and RCSI.
In addition to advancing postgraduate PPI education, this project has created a strong, interdisciplinary network and set a precedent for future multi-stakeholder engagement in curriculum development. Educating future research leaders on PPI has the potential for significant impact in the years ahead.
Sharing knowledge, enhancing practice
Several well-established Network Shared Learning Groups (SLGs) bring together people from different backgrounds, with different perspectives, levels of knowledge and PPI experience to share PPI knowledge, skills and expertise. The SLGs are open spaces where all attendees can engage in informal learning. No one form of knowledge is privileged above others and people facing similar challenges can ask questions in a safe space.
Impacting the broader research ecosystem
The PPI landscape in Ireland is changing rapidly. The PPI Ignite Network is at the core of a powerful network of networks that has developed across the research ecosystem and beyond. The labyrinth of connections and collaborations emerging from the PPI Ignite Network are driving culture change.
Listen to what external stakeholders have to say about this change and read about the changing research ecosystem.
Building stronger charity – researcher partnerships
HRCI and the PPI Ignite Network national office co-developed a practical guide to support effective partnerships between researchers and health charities. The guidance reflects real-world challenges across both sectors, including roles, expectations and governance.
The guide is widely used, read how this guide is improving partnerships.
Strengthening PPI in charities
Request for charities and community-based organisations from researchers to collaborate on projects are growing. The PPI Ignite Network worked with multiple charities to co-create two tools to address these issues. These tools have been implemented across a range of charities to help streamline their PPI processes and alleviate the added burden they experienced due to the increased demand.
Accredited, quality education
The UCC Digital Badge in Patient and Public Involvement in Research is a free online micro-credential, validated by UCC. The Digital Badge can deepen the knowledge of learners already familiar with PPI, as well as serving as an introduction to beginners. The Badge serves to formalise and validate PPI education and has benefited students and early career researchers through early exposure to high quality PPI in research education. It has laid the foundations for subsequent collaborations across the Network in co-creating an accredited PPI postgraduate module.
A consensus on what matters
The PPI Ignite Network Values and Principles Framework provides a means by which people can discuss, plan, assess, and celebrate what is meant by excellent PPI in an Irish context. Developed by PPI Ignite Network @ TCD, with input from PPI contributors, researchers and other stakeholders, and launched during the National PPI Festival 2022, the framework offers guidance on what is considered good quality approaches to PPI.
Since the launch of the framework, there have been positive indicators of change as different partners have begun to adopt the framework to guide their work. By becoming integrated into PPI education and training and practice, the framework is helping to shape how researchers engage with PPI partners.
Building capacity, changing culture
Maynooth University’s (MU) inclusion in the PPI Ignite Network as a national partner has enhanced the growth and development of meaningful PPI in research at this site, as well as establishing and fostering valuable professional connections across the various national partners and Lead Sites. Through knowledge exchange opportunities within the Network, MU has delivered tailored training days to researchers, runs an annual MU-HRCI collaborative PPI Festival event on building relationships and partnerships with charities, and disseminates best-practice in PPI excellence, aiming to embed PPI across MU’s research ecosystem.
Supporting PPI in lab-based research
and format for a Level 8 postgraduate module. A companion module for PPI contributors was also developed, and can be delivered in parallel to the postgraduate module, simultaneously building the capacity, knowledge and confidence of PPI contributors.