An evaluation of the impact of public involvement and engagement in the Connected Health Cities Programme
As a large data-intensive initiative, Connected Health Cities (CHC) has been unique in that one of its main aims, to work with and gain the public’s trust, was only achievable using patient and public involvement and engagement (PPIE). As a result, PPIE has underpinned all the work that we do across our city regions. This independent evaluation was commissioned to help us collate, organise and present evidence of the impact of our public engagement and involvement and identify a strategy for enhancing and evidencing future impact.
The findings from this evaluation have shown us how much we have achieved in each of our city regions. We have already begun sharing our successful approaches, both between the regions and nationally, and we are identifying ways that we canimprove them. We recognise that building successful PPIE requires time to mature and we acknowledge that some of what we have achieved has still got some way to go before it is embedded in our routine practice. We also recognise the need to continue to evaluate the impact of what we do.
However, we are immensely proud of the co-production and wider contributions that the public have made to CHC. This report would not have been possible without the input from so many different experiences, opinions and viewpoints. The body of work that has created this report will continue to have an impact, not only through the defined outputs, but through the change in mind-set of those who have performed the research and those who will lead research in the future.