Statement of intent for patient and public involvement

To make our research as impactful as possible, we are committed to involving people affected by cancer in our work.  

This means we will work with people affected by cancer to guide, influence and shape projects as they develop to increase our understanding of cancer and ensure our work meets the needs of people affected by cancer.  

We will also seek input from members of the public, who may not have previous experience of cancer, particularly for our research on cancer epidemiology, prevention, early detection and diagnosis. 

• We’ll involve patients and the public in an effective way across our research activities. This includes, where it adds value, shaping research proposals, reviewing applications and contributing to funding decisions, monitoring our ongoing research, influencing and shaping our research events, developing our patient and public involvement processes. 
• We’ll ensure applicants, expert reviewers, research events programme committees and our staff understand what constitutes meaningful, high-quality patient and public involvement and have relevant support and resources to do it well.  
• We’ll provide ongoing support and training for our patient and public involvement representatives, so that they can contribute effectively in their role and shape and influence our work.   
• We’ll define effective processes for patient and public involvement, to maximise the value they bring to our work. We’ll work with our patient and public involvement representatives to identify further opportunities to involve people affected by cancer in our work. 
• We’ll ensure people are involved in a way that is accessible and inclusive. 
• We’ll honour our commitment to UK Standards for Public Involvement and work with key partners, including the National Institute of Health and Care Research, the Health Research Authority, the National Cancer Research Institute and UK Research & Innovation, to align approaches, reduce duplication and share knowledge and best practice.  
• We’ll honour our Shared Commitment to Public Involvement made along with the Health Research Authority, the National Institute for Health Research, and a host of other organisations. This highlights CRUK’s commitment to improve the extent and quality of public involvement across the sector so that it is consistently excellent. Find out more here: Shared Commitment to Public Involvement