Become a Community Partner

The Imperial Biomedical Research Centre (Imperial BRC) is funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and is a network of researchers and health professionals who work across Imperial College London (a University) and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust (a group of 5 hospitals).  

The aim of the Imperial BRC is to develop new treatments, diagnostic tests, and medical technologies (e.g., health monitoring apps) for the benefit of patients, the public, and the health and care services in North West London. 

You can find out more about the Imperial BRC on their website.

The role will require up to 15 hours of your time until May 2025, with the possibility of extension.

As part of the role, you will:  

• work in partnership with researchers and health professionals within one of the research areas listed above   
  
• share your lived experience related to one of the research areas (above), either as a patient, carer or family member 
• ask questions as a 'critical friend' to make researchers work more relevant to the North West London Community  
• provide advice on ways researchers and health professionals can engage and involve people within North West London to make sure their work 
  

Your involvement will be flexible, and you will be able to decide what activities you would like to get involved in, depending on your preferences and capacity. Involvement might include sharing your experience and views by: 

• attending either face-to-face, online, or hybrid group meetings with other Community Partners, researchers, and health professionals 
• having 1-to-1 phone/video calls with researchers and/or health professionals  
• providing your feedback on relevant documents (e.g., strategy documents, public-facing reports) over email 
  

Anyone who:  

• is 17 years or older 
• lives, works, studies or receives care in North West London (for our purposes, this includes the boroughs of Brent, Ealing, Kensington & Chelsea, Hammersmith & Fulham, Harrow, Hillingdon, Hounslow or Westminster) 
• has community connections in North West London. You may be part of a community organisation, charity or group linked to your faith, health condition, age, sexual identity, ethnicity, or geographical location 
• has current experience related to our research areas  
• be passionate about improving the health of the local community 
• is willing to learn and attend training (for which you will be paid), you don’t need any previous experience or knowledge of research  
• be able to work as part of a team 
• be comfortable speaking in front of others 
• be comfortable providing feedback (from your lived experience) on written material which may be provided via email or post 

For full details, please refer to the eligibility criteria for the Community Partner Steering Group for the research area you are expressing an interest in.

• Your lived experience is valuable & can help improve research & health outcomes for the North West London community 
• Work with local researchers, clinicians & other members of the local community 
• Share the views of your community to shape research priorities  
• Hear about the latest developments in health diagnosis & treatment 
• Learn about health and research
  
• Meet other people who want to improve the health of the local community 

In addition to receiving payment for your time and expenses to undertake the role, we will also:  

• Regularly ask you about any training and development needs, and seek to offer relevant and accessible training  
• Give you a point-of-contact who you can contact throughout the role with any questions 
• Provide support and access to resources required to fulfil the role 
• Keep you updated with any relevant information or upcoming meetings/events relating to the research theme 
• Send you (by the method you request) any relevant information and/or event details in a timely manner
• Provide notes from meetings promptly
• Answer any questions you may have 
• Provide regular feedback on the changes made as a result of your feedback.  

A shortlist will be created from the from the expression of interest submissions. Those shortlisted will be asked to join a short phone/video call, to hear more about the role and to share a bit more about their experience in order to assist us with selection for the roles.
 
If the number of people who apply to be a Community Partner is more than the number of roles available, we will select individual/s based on relevance of their lived experience to the research areas. Further, to address the current issue of under-representation in research and to ensure diversity and inclusion we will aim to involve people of various ages, ethnicities and experiences, as well as involving those who may not have previously been involved with Imperial College London or had involvement in research. 

No problem, we frequently share opportunities to get involved in research, as well as details of relevant events, through our Imperial Patient Experience Research Centre mailing list which you can sign up to here.  

The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) also have a public information pack which explains how to get involved in research, including ways you can involved and what ‘involvement’ means. You can access the pack here.