If you’re living with a life-limiting illness, you’re caring for someone who is, or you’re bereaved, join our Research Voices Group and use your voice to improve end of life care.
The purpose of the group is to ensure that people with lived experience have their say in influencing our research and helping us to achieve positive change in service delivery and policy across the four nations of the United Kingdom.
What would I do as part of the group?
As a member of the Research Voices Group, you can do as little or as much as you like or have time for. You can choose what activities you get involved with. The group meets bi-monthly, either online or in-person. You'll also receive a regular newsletter to let you know about involvement opportunities and the impact of our work on policy and practice.
You’ll help with all sorts of activities, such as:
- helping us choose which research proposals to fund
- helping researchers to define research topics and questions
- sharing your views as part of a research advisory group
- being an active member of a research project team
- helping Marie Curie review and select research abstracts to be presented at our annual research conference
- speaking about your own experiences at policy making forums, research conferences and other events
- sharing your experiences to support our campaigns
- joining our bi-monthly meetings.
Who can get involved with the Research Voices Group?
All you need to join the group is personal experience of living with serious life-limiting illness, caring for someone, or of bereavement. You will also to be interested in supporting research, policy and campaigning in these areas. We will train and guide you so you can make the most of your time with us.
Marie Curie works across the UK, so we are keen to have members from the four nations. We welcome volunteers from all backgrounds and communities. Members must be aged 18 or over.
What we offer you
As a Research Voices Group member, you'll get:
- the chance to help us improve palliative and end of life care both within and beyond Marie Curie services
- an opportunity to enhance your skills and gain new experiences
- reimbursement for your time and out-of-pocket expenses
- support from our research and policy teams and other members of the group
- the opportunity to be part of a supportive group of people.
Why do we involve the public in our research and policy work?
Marie Curie is committed to involving people with lived experience in its research, policy and campaigning work. We want to involve anyone living with a serious life-limiting illness, their family members, friends and carers or those who have been bereaved. Including your views in our research and policy work, helps to ensure that our research and its outcomes are relevant and useful for people living with a life-limiting illness, their carers and people who have been bereaved.
To guide our work, we use The UK Standards for Public Involvement, which offer a guideline to good public involvement and set out what you can expect from Marie Curie when you get involved.
