Involving the Public in Research Prioritisation and As Research Partners in the Wales COVID-19 Evidence Centre (2021-23): Processes, Research Priorities, Outputs, and Lessons

Abstract Background High quality health and care research must involve patients and the public, but the COVID-19 pandemic presented challenges to usual involvement methods. We needed to identify new yet inclusive ways of involving the public in every stage of the Wales COVID-19 Evidence Centre’s (WCEC) rapid evidence generation processes, whilst fulfilling the UK Standards for Public Involvement. We describe how the public was involved in research prioritisation and as research partners in rapid research processes, and present key learning and recommendations. Methods Methods differed for two broad categories of WCEC public involvement opportunities. We recruited the public to our Public Partnership Group (PPG) to support activities throughout the research-knowledge mobilisation process. We recruited people from underserved groups impacted most by the pandemic to our Public Consultation Exercise; they participated in virtual or face-to-face workshops to identify and rank priority evidence needs. Involvement activities were mapped to the six UK Standards for Public Involvement. Learning was captured via quarterly meetings with our public partners, progress reports, and our research Collaborating Partners. Results We successfully involved 99 members of the public in identifying COVID-19 research priorities and eight members of the public to our Public Partnership Group, who supported our rapid evidence activities across the research-knowledge mobilisation process. In a pandemic context, we implemented involvement processes that were inclusive and accessible, utilised virtual platforms and methods, supported the development of new skills for our public partners, and fulfilled the UK Standards for Public Involvement. Our findings highlight the essential and complementary input of the public in identifying research priorities. Key challenges included accommodating urgent research requests from policy / practice leads, balancing views of all stakeholders, identifying answerable research questions, and capturing impact. Conclusion We provide a blueprint for involving the public across the research-knowledge mobilisation process in rapid research prioritisation and evidence environments. Key challenges that require further action include tailored guidance and training for involving members of the public in rapid evidence environments, considering the impact of rapid involvement opportunities on research inclusivity and diversity of the participants, and how we can capture impact of public involvement in contexts where rapid knowledge mobilisation is paramount. , whilst minimising burden on public partners.