We're looking for patients and caregivers to contribute to IHI’s activities
Today, it’s widely recognised that patients (and informal caregivers) can and should be involved in all aspects of research. This includes the activities of organisations like IHI that fund health research. That’s why we’re setting up the IHI Patient Pool – to create a pool of patients and informal caregivers who can support IHI activities by bringing their unique perspective, experience, and expertise to the table.
Applications are now open for people who want to be part of the IHI Patient Pool. A summary of what we’re looking for and the application process is given below. More details can be found in the call for expressions of interest and applicants are advised to read this carefully.
We also ran a webinar for potential applicants on 11 May 2023 – the slides and recording are available here.
What we’re looking for
To be part of the IHI Patient Pool, you must meet the following eligibility criteria:
- be a patient with a chronic and/or lifelong illness/condition, or a family member / informal caregiver of a patient with a chronic and/or lifelong illness/condition;
- be resident of one of the Member States of the European Union or one of the third countries associated to Horizon Europe;
- have a working knowledge of English (at least level B2 in the Common European Framework of References for Languages).
During the application process, we will ask you to indicate via a simple dropdown list the disease area that is most relevant to you (this information is compulsory).
We will also ask for additional information on things like your experience of working in research projects, involvement in patient organisations, knowledge of ethics and regulatory processes, etc. Providing this additional information is entirely voluntary, but it will help us to identify the most appropriate person for tasks that come up.
Involvement
Members of the IHI Patient Pool will receive regular updates on scientific results from our projects and will have the opportunity to get involved in IHI activities in a variety of ways. For example, they may be invited, as attendees or speakers, to participate in project meetings, scientific events, webinars, or trainings. In addition, the IHI Programme Office may invite IHI Patient Pool members with relevant knowledge and experience to evaluate project proposals or ongoing projects, or to provide input in discussions on future IHI calls for proposals. The pool will remain in place until the end of 2026.
More information on the kinds of tasks Patient Pool members may be asked to carry out, as well as details of potential reimbursement, can be found in the call for expressions of interest. Note that we cannot guarantee that all Patient Pool members will be allocated a task during the lifetime of the pool.
Application process and closing date
If you want to be part of the IHI Patient Pool, please submit your application via this online form. Because the form cannot be saved, and you cannot leave the form and come back later, we recommend you prepare the answers to the questions using this Word template. Once you’re happy with the answers, simply copy and paste them into the online form.
- Deadline for applications: 8 June 2023 at 17:00 CEST
All applications received via the online form by the deadline will go through a simple eligibility check. Applicants who meet the eligibility criteria and provide the compulsory information (i.e. indicating the most relevant disease area) will be accepted into the IHI Patient Pool.