HRA Community Survey 2024 – two year action plan

What will happen next

The HRA Community Committee will annually review the HRA’s progress against what we have set out to do.

We plan to survey our Community again in 2026.

HRA Community action plan

This is the existing HRA Community action plan that was developed by the HRA Community Insight Group, which we have reported against to date. We have used this to structure this report and set out what we plan to do next.

Speak – streamline communications with you and ensure that through them we welcome, value and support you, and recognise your contribution

You told us:

• 79% of you told us that you are happy with our email newsletter updates
• 84% of REC members told us that the tailored REC member exchange that you receive is effective at keeping you informed about what is going on in the HRA
• 49% of you feel that we keep you up to date on the impact of the work that you have contributed to
• 86% feel that you are kept up to date with what you want to know about the HRA and its work

What we have done in the past two years:

• worked with two members of the public to establish a public involvement newsletter tailored for public contributors and those interested in public involvement in health and social care research
• acted on feedback to improve the REC Member Information Exchange
• we have introduced a REC and CAG Chair's and Member's online feedback form and gather feedback during events including REC Development Days and Chair’s meetings

Listen – establish ways for you to tell us what you think and ensure that this informs what we do

You told us:

• 81% of you told us that the HRA listens and acts on the issues that you raise
• 87% of you told us that you feel comfortable giving feedback to the HRA
• 74% told us that you can talk to us when you need to

What we have done:

• all members of our Community have teams focused on supporting them, including receiving and acting on feedback
• we conduct a survey of all of our Community members every two years

REC members

• we have held discussion sessions at our REC development days to ask for feedback on issues that we know are important to our REC members
• we have twice-yearly meetings with our REC chairs to hear about issues that are important to them and their committees

CAG members:

• we have twice yearly CAG away days which is an opportunity for CAG to hear of relevant developments within data policy, or discuss relevant issues to CAG
• we have monthly meetings with the CAG chair team to discuss operational issues, or wider developments for chair discussion
• we have a weekly meeting with the CAG chair to discuss specific operational points and wider developments

Public contributors:

• we meet with public contributors after each involvement to hear their feedback on what went well and how we can do things better
• we have a standing item in our public involvement newsletter with information about how public contributors can give feedback or raise a concern

Community – support opportunities for you to meet, share and engage with each other

You told us:

That you are largely happy with online working, but some of you miss opportunities to meet other Community members.

What we have done:

• all REC members are invited to annual in-person REC development days around the country. We also hold a virtual REC development day for those who prefer that. In addition, REC members can arrange a separate networking event each year
• CAG holds an in-person away day each year
• REC chairs come together face to face for a day each year, in addition to twice yearly Chairs’ meetings online
• we support the public contributors that we are working with to meet and discuss the projects that they are working on together – as just the public contributors involved - in ways that work for them

Attractive – provide accessible information about the opportunities and benefits of working with the HRA.

You told us:

• 93% of you want to hear about opportunities to get involved in our work through email newsletters and 17% through the HRA website
• 94% told us that your work is meaningful
• 77% get what you want from the work that you do
• 84% said you are likely or very likely to recommend working with the HRA

Public contributors specifically told us:

• practical things make a big difference: enough time, clear documents, the right venues
• it’s easier to ask for support when we’ve developed a good working relationship over time. It can be harder when we’ve just started working together
• some involvement activities need particular skills and knowledge. For example, understanding research ethics or the ability to chair a meeting

What we have done:

Public contributors

• the public involvement newsletter has a regular feature giving a short update on some of the involvement activity we have in progress and sharing new invitations to get involved in our work
• we have published blogs from members of our Community talking about their work with us
• we have published our public involvement payments policy on the HRA website and link to this when sharing invitations to work with us

CAG members

• undertaken a tailored CAG recruitment campaign using comments and reflections from current CAG members

REC members

• membership of Research Ethics Committee is very healthy with 898 REC members in England at the end of June 2024. Our target is to have 15 members on each of the 64 committees, that's a total target of 960 members
• we recruit REC members through a range of routes. Word of mouth from existing members is by far our most successful way to recruit members. We also include information about joining our service in NHS pension letters, to attract those who might be interested in joining a REC after their retirement, which has worked well
• we have done specific and targeted recruitment for members who do not have professional involvement in health and social care services. This was shared through social media and some universities. What worked well was being very clear that we needed their perspectives specifically because they were not involved professionally in the delivery of these services, and we wanted their perspectives

Achievable – ask about your experiences to ensure that your role is achievable within the time you commit to us.

You told us:

• REC members have told us that their workload can be high
• 76% said the information you received about your role was accurate

What we have done:

REC members

• we have reduced REC meeting slots and are committed to continuing to work to address feedback that the workload can be high. We are currently undertaking a pilot of the Ethics Review Form to assess whether this can help define specific areas for the REC to focus on to minimise the documents they might need to review

Public contributors

• we try to provide realistic estimates of how much time an involvement opportunity will require and check in with you throughout your involvement to revise these where necessary and ensure that you do not feel obligated to do more than you can

CAG members

• we remove unnecessary documents from CAG review to ensure only relevant information is provided to CAG members
• we now expect applicants to attend as standard when their application is reviewed at a CAG meeting, meaning that details can be clarified in the meeting, so increasing the chance of resolving the review at the meeting

Accessible – support everyone to engage with and contribute to the HRA without being disadvantaged

You told us:

• a high proportion of our Community told us that they have a disability or long-term health condition, so it is important that we think about inclusion as we design our activities
• 84% of you agreed or strongly agreed that you are treated fairly
• 81% of you agree or strongly agree that the information you receive is easy to understand
• 35% of you would like more administrative support, e.g. with payments, complaints, communications
• 20% of you would value more help, advice or support with equipment
• 32% of you would value more technical support in your role with the HRA
• 57% of you do feel appropriately supported by the HRA when something doesn’t go to plan
• 86% feel that you do have the information that you need for your role or know where to find it
• 81% feel that everyone in the HRA respects each other

What we have done:

• a demographic survey of our Community to inform our work going forward. Published in July 2024, this provides a baseline to better understand our Community and inform our work going forward
• we are producing a way of working resource for our Community, which will include clear information about working together respectfully and inclusively. This was published in July 2024, and we will continue to review and update this in response to feedback

Champion – publicly acknowledge your role in what we have achieved

You told us:

• 53% told us that we keep you up to date on the impact of the work that you have contributed to
• 77% think that you are making a difference
• 83% feel valued for what they offer the HRA
• 83% of you feel that your work with the HRA makes a difference

We have done:

• the work of REC and CAG members and our public involvement activities are reported in the HRA’s key performance indicators and reviewed by the HRA Board each quarter
• published blogs by REC and CAG members about their work so that is visible
• researchers have visited CAG to talk about the outputs of work that CAG originally approved
• the public involvement newsletter features where people have been involved in the HRA’s work and the impact that this has had

Thank – personally, thank you and recognise your contribution

You told us:

• 58% say that the HRA teams you work with gave you feedback
• 18% made suggestions for how we can better show your employer the value of your time and work with us
• 74% feel respected in your work with the HRA

What we have done:

• our Chief Executive and Chair have personally thanked our Community for their contribution.
• we write letters recognising REC members contribution to our work, which they can share with their employers
• we recognise our member’s expertise by involving them in our training programmes
• continue to publish reflections on public involvement in the HRA’s work from public contributors and HRA staff, giving insights into what worked well, less well and the difference that it has made in our monthly Public Involvement newsletters
• have a clearer schedule for when and how we update you after a public involvement activity has ended
• members can now take advantage of a range of discounts available on the Health Service Discounts website

Health Service Discounts is free for you to join, and once you are a member you can access thousands of deals and save every time you shop on essentials, fashion, energy, insurance, days out, holidays, mobile phones and loads more. These discounts are already available to all NHS staff however, we have secured this benefit for REC members based on the feedback you gave at REC member development days last year where we explored how we could recognise your contribution. If you would like to join Health Service Discounts for free, please email the member support team at member.support@hra.nhs.uk and we will guide you through the next steps

Involve – proactively seek your views to inform all our work

You told us:

• 22% of you would like to be more involved in shaping what the HRA does
• 64% of you think the HRA is delivering against its strategic priorities
• 79% told us that you feel that you have shaped and informed the work that you have been involved in

What we have done:

• established the Community Committee as a formal part of the HRA’s governance, advising the HRA Board
• we always ask for feedback on our activities with you and use this to inform our work going forward