Get involved in the work of the HRA – Help shape our new strategy

We’re looking for four members of the public to help shape the development of our new strategy.

Our current strategy, ‘making it easy to do research that people can trust’, was written to last three years. We’re now planning a new strategy, starting in 2025. This will set out what we are going to do over the next three years.

We want to identify what we can do to make the biggest difference with the resources we have, but also what we are not going to do, for example, where others are better placed to lead.

To help make these decisions, we would like to invite two members of the public with relevant experience to join a workshop (two people per workshop) to shape our thinking at an early stage in two areas:

• international working
• partnership working

Please note, the criteria and date of each workshop and briefing session is different, so please read the below information about each activity before applying.

International working

To contribute to the question, ‘what is the HRA’s role, if any, internationally?’ We are looking for two members of the public to attend a workshop alongside two members of Research Ethics Committees and senior members of HRA staff. This will also be informed by conversations with other organisations that the HRA works with and alongside, some of whom may join us.

What will be involved?

• preparing for the workshop by reading the workshop agenda and a detailed briefing document
• a briefing meeting with Becky Purvis, HRA Director of Policy and Partnerships, and Kat Evans, Senior Public Involvement Officer, on Wednesday 29 January from 3:00 to 4:00pm
• an online workshop on Friday 31 January from 10:30am to 12:30pm. At this meeting we will use information on our current international activity; the requests / opportunities that we receive; and the expectations shared with us from our stakeholders; alongside our statutory objectives and functions that are set out in law to help us develop some principles to guide our approach going forward. We will explore where the HRA may lead work, but also where our role may be to support others, or we may have no role at all.
• an optional de-brief after the workshop, to check in on your experience
• a meeting to exchange feedback on your involvement

What skills or experience do I need to take part?

You don’t need specialist expertise about international engagement as other people in the workshop will bring this knowledge. However, we think it’s important that you are available on the dates and times listed above and meet these criteria:

• an understanding, and ideally some experience of international collaboration, and awareness of associated risks and benefits
• some understanding of the role of arms length bodies in the public sector so that you will be confident to understand the landscape that the HRA operates within, and the opportunities and constraints that come with that
• able to read, understand, and question detailed information
• confident to bring a public perspective to a strategic and fast-moving workshop, with support from HRA staff
• experience of contributing constructively to discussions with senior leaders and subject matter experts

Partnership working

To contribute to the question, ‘when and how do we partner and collaborate with others to make it easier to do research that people can trust’? We are looking for two members of the public to attend a workshop alongside two members of Research Ethics Committees and senior members of HRA staff. This will also be informed by conversations with other organisations that the HRA works with and alongside, some of whom may join us.

What will be involved?

• preparing for the workshop by reading the workshop agenda and a detailed briefing document
• attending a briefing meeting on 30 January from 11am to 12pm with Becky Purvis, HRA Director of Policy and Partnerships, and Kat Evans, Senior Public Involvement Officer
• an online workshop on 4 February from 2pm to 4pm. At this meeting we will seek to better understand who we work with, why work with them and what we do through a series of worked examples to inform principles for how we make these decisions consistently
• an optional de-brief after the workshop, to check in on your experience
• attending a meeting to exchange feedback on your involvement

What skills or experience do I need to take part?

You don’t need specialist expertise about engagement and partnerships as other people in the workshop will bring this knowledge. However, we think it’s important that you are available on the dates and times listed above and meet these criteria:

1. an understanding, and ideally some experience of, formal and informal collaboration, with a range of groups and organisations, and awareness of associated risks and benefits
2. some understanding of the role of arms-length bodies in the public sector so that you will be confident to understand the landscape that the HRA operates within, and the opportunities and constraints that come with that
3. able to read, understand, and question detailed information
4. confident to bring a public perspective to a strategic and fast-moving workshop, with support from HRA staff
5. experience of contributing constructively to discussions with senior leaders and subject matter experts

What support will I receive?

Our HRA Community Ways of Working sets out what you can expect when working with us, and our expectations for working together respectfully, inclusively and impactfully.

Becky Purvis will be your main point of contact for this activity. She will provide the information you need to contribute and will update you on the impact of your involvement. Kat Evans will provide practical support to facilitate your involvement.

If you are invited to take part in this activity, we will ask you to share your access and support needs, and any requests for reasonable adjustments. We will keep this information confidential. With your permission, we will share it with workshop facilitators or attendees.

What difference will it make and how will I know?

By the end of the international workshop, we hope to have developed:

• ​ draft principles to guide our approach international engagement

By the end of the partnership working workshop, we hope to have developed:

• draft principles to guide our approach to partnerships, collaborations and requests for support when we receive approaches which are outside our statutory services and existing formal partnerships. The HRA receives lots of requests to work with different people and organisations in different ways. Some of these requests may be more or less relevant to what we are trying to achieve. With limited resources and a responsibility to spend public money wisely, we need to make decisions over what we do and do not do. These principles will help us make informed and consistent decisions on who we work with, why we work with them, and what we do.

There will be a range of people in the workshop, including members of Research Ethics Committees, and senior HRA staff who will bring in-depth knowledge. We are keen for external, public perspectives to shape our early thinking. But it’s important to be aware that not all ideas can or will be taken forward.

We wouldn’t expect you to contribute to all areas of the discussion, but we anticipate public contributors will support the discussion by balancing questions of public trust and transparency alongside practical and strategic considerations.

The strategy will be published in summer 2025. The outputs of this workshop will inform this. We will share the final strategy with you and will be happy to update you on how this workshop has informed our work once it is launched.

How will you decide who will be involved?

We will remove your name from your application and transcribe any recordings and videos we receive into text documents. Two members of HRA staff will score against the criteria above. If we receive many applications that provide good evidence of meeting the criteria, we will select two applicants at random.

We are committed to creating an inclusive workplace that promotes and values diversity. We know from experience that different ideas, perspectives and backgrounds create stronger, more creative ways of working, that help us to achieve the ambitions in our strategy.

We welcome applications which represent the rich diversity of our community: age, disability, gender identity and expression, ethnicity, impairment, neurodiversity, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation and other diverse life experience such as being a carer, level of education, living in a deprived or rural area, and socio-economic background.

Will I receive payment?

Yes. In line with our payments policy, we can offer £175 to cover:

• preparing for the workshop by reading briefing documents and attending a short briefing meeting
• taking part in the two-hour workshop and reading workshop notes
• attending a feedback meeting, to include preparation and reading meeting notes

Will my expenses be covered?

Yes. It is our policy to cover reasonable expenses, if agreed in advance. For example travel, additional childcare, or for a carer or personal assistant. We offer a £5 contribution towards any incidental expenses incurred by attending online meetings.