Patients and healthy members of the public are our greatest strength – health research simply couldn’t happen without the volunteers who give their time and commitment.
Involvement can be wide ranging from shaping the design of a research study or the wording of information for participants to taking part in a study and sharing your experience to encourage others to follow suit.
Members of the public are also getting involved in advising us about what research to fund. The National Institute for Health Research funds and supports INVOLVE to ensure that researchers, funders and the public are aware of the value and contribution of public involvement.
If you interested in learning more about opportunities to support clinical research you can ask the healthcare professional looking after you in hospital, your community or GP practice.
Clinical research is taking place at every major NHS hospital throughout the South West, as well as many GP surgeries.
If you're a member of the public and would like to know more about research, here's how you can find out more: