04 July 2025 | Katie Porter, Project Coordinator at PEDRI
On 18 June, we hosted the PEDRI Good Practice Standards Frontiers meeting, bringing together public members, academics, regulators, industry and trade bodies to share learning and consider the future of public engagement in data-driven research. Held at Wellcome in London, the meeting marked a key moment at PEDRI, celebrating the launch of the Good Practice Standards.
Highlights
The meeting provided a platform to:
- Discuss the evolution of the Good Practice Standards and how they can work in practice
- Share insights and experiences from across the sector
- Foster collaboration and knowledge sharing
The meeting underscored the importance of partnerships, collaborations and good practice in public engagement in data research through real-life examples shared by our expert speakers, which you can find out more about below.
Public at the centre of what we do
A diverse group of senior leaders and experts from different disciplines attended and spoke at the meeting, including Administrative Data Research UK, Office for Statistics Regulation, IQVIA, Association of British Pharmaceutical Industry, Centre for Ethnic Health Research, Equity Lighthouse, and University of Cambridge. Central to all discussions was the commitment to ensuring that the public remains at the heart of our work. Our Good Practice Standards are a good starting point to support embedding the public voice in the work of teams and organisations using data in research.
Demonstrating trustworthiness
A golden thread that ran throughout the meeting was the importance of trust. With some communities, trust has been broken. So, to effectively involve and engage the public in our work, we need to build and sustain relationships with different communities and public members. We need to partner with the public, collaborate with them throughout our work, and think more creatively about how we can involve those who are currently under-represented in data research.
Making it stick
Building trust and embedding the public voice into our work requires sustained effort. We need to make sure we don’t lose momentum when it comes to public involvement and engagement. We are always looking to improve how we work with the public to make sure we leave no one behind when it comes to conversations about data and research using data. For example, working on projects that are aimed at engaging specific communities, such as our project with Cancer Research UK that will explore engaging young people in cancer data research.
What’s next?
At the meeting, we launched some new exciting initiatives:
- ‘From Standards to Impact’ Funding Call – We announced the launch of the ‘From Standards to Impact: Embedding the Public Engagement in Data Research Initiative Good Practice Standards in Data for Research and Statistics’ funding call, in collaboration with HDRUK. Sign up to our upcoming applicant webinar on 15 July and find out more about the call.
- PEDRI Pledge – Teams and organisations can now sign up to the public-facing PEDRI Pledge. The Pledge outlines how the adoption of the PEDRI Good Practice Standards would change the involvement and engagement experience for the public. Read more on our new webpage.
Additionally, we are co-developing the Good Practice Standards Evaluation Framework which builds on the Standards and aims to support teams and organisations working in data research and statistics to reflect on how they involve and engage the public. Early testing with partners is underway, with broader consultation planned in the next few months. Further information on this framework will be released later this year.
If you weren’t able to join us at the event, recordings of presentations will be published soon. Keep an eye out on our socials!
Thank you
A huge thank you to everyone who joined us, spoke, presented posters, shared thoughts or supported the event behind the scenes. Events like this remind us of the power of collective insight and shared purpose.
Stay connected
There are different ways to engage with us:
- If you’re an organisation or researcher, look into our membership options
- Have a question? Get in touch at contact@pedri.org.uk
