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Patient and Public Involvement Event organisers urge community to get inspired for abstract submissions

Patient and Public Involvement Event organisers urge community to get inspired for abstract submissions

Organisers of a third powerful showcase of Scotland’s patient and public involvement (PPI) initiatives have opened a call for the submission of inspiring abstracts

Oral, workshop, and poster submissions are being encouraged for the sharing of vital learnings across the community.

Hosted by NRS and the Chief Scientist Office (CSO) of Scottish Government, the Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) Event 2026 will take place at Stirling Court Hotel — part of the University of Stirling Campus — on Tuesday 3 March.

PPI partners, professionals, researchers, including early career researchers, and policymakers working in the area, and with an interest around developing their PPI practice and activities, are being encouraged to attend and respond to the call for abstracts, including poster displays and contributions to sessions.

The full programme — shaped by Scotland’s vibrant PPI community — is expected to launch early next year alongside the opportunity to register.

Following successful gatherings in 2024 and 2025, the event will bring together speakers from NHS, academia, and the third sector, as well as public contributors, and early career researchers, all united in ambitions to improve the quality of PPI in research.

NRS considers it vital that patients and the public play a prominent role in the research that affects them in order to accelerate studies and improve access, inclusivity, and diversity.

The event’s key themes will centre around ethical patient and public involvement, working with underserved groups and communities and building and supporting the patient and public involvement community.

Carol Porteous, PPI Lead at NRS, said: “Engaging abstracts that kickstart meaningful, impactful discourse will help to form the backbone of this important event — and now is the time to share them.

“We are looking for diverse high-quality submissions which underline essential research and initiatives, in turn foregrounding the role of patients and the public in key healthcare decisions, research design, service delivery, and policymaking.

“In order to encourage continuous improvement in PPI, we need to spotlight the process of involving the public and patients as active partners, their motivations, challenges faced, and the outcomes of such involvement in terms of heightened relevance, quality, and patient-centredness of healthcare.

“Please do get involved — all abstracts are welcome for this landmark event which aims to break down barriers to involvement, while tackling any lingering misconceptions, and encouraging knowledge exchange.”

Deadline for abstract submissions is Friday 31 October.

If you have any queries on the event, please contact communications@nrs.org.uk.

Publication date: 27th August 2025

Author: NHS Research Scotland

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