PPI Guidance for Researchers

The Irish Cancer Society is committed to putting patients, families, survivors, carers, supporters and the public at the very heart of what we do. 

To chat to the Society about PPI please contact us here.

In keeping with this commitment, we have embedded Patient and Public Partnership (PPP) in our research processes. The majority of Irish Cancer Society grant calls will require researchers to detail their plans for including PPP in their proposed research. These partnership sections will be reviewed by people affected by cancer (PPP reviewers).

We recognise that partnering with people affected by cancer can be a daunting process for cancer researchers especially when first starting out.  

At the Irish Cancer Society, we have been working with our Patient and Public Partnership since 2018, and we are happy to provide advice and support to cancer researchers on their PPI. 

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Public and Patient Partnership Case Study – the Playing Our Part Project

Playing Our Part - Supporting Community Cancer Support Centres to Engage in Research in Ireland - Report
Playing Our Part - Supporting Community Cancer Support Centres to Engage in Research in Ireland - Report
Booklet
Playing Our Part - Infographic
Playing Our Part - Infographic
Booklet

Playing Our Part - Supporting Community Cancer Support Centres to Engage in Research in Ireland 

Dr Emer Guinan, Associate Professor and researcher at Trinity St. James's Cancer Research Institute (TSJCI) was awarded an Irish Cancer Society Cancer Research Networking Award in 2023. This project, lead by Dr Guinan, in partnership with co-applicants Mr John Conroy, Dóchas Offaly Cancer Support Groups, and Mr Michael Foley, PPI Ignite, Trinity College Dublin, involved hosting a networking workshop with Community Cancer Support Networks

At the workshop, a collaborative group of Community Cancer Support Centre representatives, researchers and PPI representatives came together to discuss the challenges facing Cancer Support Centres in managing requests for research participation and PPI contribution. As a result of this workshop, the team developed a practical and comprehensive guidance document for researchers aiming to work with Community Cancer Support Centres.

This guidance documentation and infographic summarising the findings and recommendations can be found below.

Our Patient Partnership Panel

At the Irish Cancer Society, we are proud to partner with people affected by cancer to work with us in driving forward patient focused cancer research in Ireland. We do occasionally get external requests from researchers asking to connect in with our patient partnership panel, and we try to facilitate this where we can. 

As a first step to this process, we ask researchers to please fill out our PPI request form, available in the documents section below, and email it to us.

Email Us
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Useful Documents

PPI Application Form for Researchers
PPI Application Form for Researchers
Booklet
Irish Cancer Society Training Toolkit on PPI
Irish Cancer Society Training Toolkit on PPI
Booklet
Appendix 1 - Irish Cancer Society Public and Patient Partnership in Research Guidelines
Appendix 1 - Irish Cancer Society Public and Patient Partnership in Research Guidelines
Booklet
PPI in Cancer Network: Report from Kickoff Event
PPI in Cancer Network: Report from Kickoff Event
Booklet

For more information, check out our Public and Patient Involvement homepage.