All PPIE initiatives require the recruitment of some patient and public members. Effective recruitment requires a clear objective and appropriate recruitment activities. See Appendix K for an example recruitment strategy.

Recruitment Objectives & Desired Members

Your recruitment objective should specify the number and characteristics of desired members, and be directly informed by your initiative’s purpose. For example, if you aim to improve care for heart disease patients, you will likely recruit those directly affected, such as survivors of heart attacks and carers looking after people with heart failure. Other interested groups to recruit include those working for heart disease charities, first responders or psychologists dealing with the emotional consequences of chronic illness. Finally, including people with existing ties to communities (e.g. community organisers) and useful skills (e.g. communication specialists) could be beneficial.

● Size: No guidance exists about the optimal size for PPIE groups. It is good to aim for a group of 8-10 people in order to include a range of perspectives but be small enough to encourage meaningful engagement. To account for dropouts, a target of 12-14 is recommended for a group of 8-10 people.

● Balance: Including individuals with lived experience of the topics of your focus is key, but so is the inclusion of other perspectives. It is worthwhile to have a 60:40 split in your group between those directly affected (e.g. patients, carers, staff) and others, such as community leaders and charity workers.

● Arts: It is strongly recommend to have someone in your group with a background in art, media or storytelling to help your initiative have wider impact and reach intended audiences through effective communication.

● Diversity: A group of 10 individuals will never be able to represent the diversity of any population. However, it is possible to purposefully maximise diversity of perspectives. For example, it might be sensible to have members with different views about research, ranging from members who support, are neutral and oppose research, and to have diversity in language, socio-economic background, religion and geographical location. Additionally, your close public working partners are just the start - Your activities down the line can involve surveys and further engagement with a wider population.

Recruitment Activities

Activities to recruit members depend largely on your desired members (e.g. if you want school-aged children, you would engage with your local school), but below are some broad considerations:

● Build on trust: Recruit people through trusted individuals and established organisations, groups and networks, who already have established relationships with a community. For example, physicians, charities and local leaders. Getting their endorsement will enable you to reach people you couldn’t otherwise.

● Engage widely: At the beginning, take all opportunities to meet people, network, hold events and engage. Most of it won’t amount to anything, but collectively these efforts promote awareness.

● Snowball: Ask your team members, new connections and identified partners to assist with recruitment through their personal contacts and by posting in their alumni and professional WhatsApp groups.

● Public events: Holding a workshop or interactive public event allows people to get practically involved and learn more about your work, which may inspire some to volunteer to become PPIE members.

● Persist: Recruitment for PPIE is hard. It took us 6 months to get 10 members. But it is worth it. Persist.