PEDRI Good Practice Standards – From Standards to Impact Funding Call

Funding for organisations to embed the PEDRI Good Practice Standards into their public involvement and engagement (PIE) activities in data research. 

The Public Engagement in Data Research Initiative (PEDRI) is a sector-wide partnership of organisations working with data and statistics. It is coordinated by Health Data Research UK.

The PEDRI Good Practice Standards aim to support public involvement and engagement that leads to more relevant research, richer insights, and outcomes that have a long-lasting, positive impact. They were co-developed through a rigorous collaborative process involving members of the public, researchers, and public involvement and engagement practitioners from academia and the public sector.

They can be used across a wide range of sectors where public data plays a key role in shaping services, products, and knowledge. This includes healthcare, public services, academia, the private sector, and the voluntary sector. The Standards address the specific challenges of delivering effective public involvement and engagement in the context of large-scale or ‘big data’ research.

From Standards to Impact: Embedding the Public Engagement in Data Research Initiative Good Practice Standards in Data for Research and Statistics awards are offered by PEDRI in collaboration with Health Data Research UK (HDR UK) and Data and Analytics Research Environments UK (DARE UK). 

The funding call aims to:

1. Support organisations and infrastructure programmes to embed the PEDRI Good Practice Standards into their public involvement and engagement (PIE) activities in data research. 
2. Explore and better understand the practical challenges of delivering effective PIE in the context of data research and statistics. 
3. Evaluate the application and impact of the PEDRI Good Practice Standards across diverse data sectors and research environments – testing their value and adaptability in real-world settings. 
4. Create a community of practice for PIE practitioners using the PEDRI Good Practice Standards.

Proposed projects should contribute to the development of PIE in a data research organisation or infrastructure programme. While the activity may be part of a larger or ongoing project, applicants must clearly define a standalone component that applies the PEDRI Good Practice Standards from the outset and involve PIE practitioners or leads. 

Applicants are encouraged to address all seven PEDRI Good Practice Standards. However, applicants can choose to focus on the specific Standards that are most likely to improve PIE within their organisation. In such cases, the project must address a minimum of three Standards in depth and one of these must be Standard 1: Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. 

Projects are expected to engage and involve relevant public members throughout – from the development of the application, through to the evaluation of the completed project. Proposals that demonstrate consideration of the long-term sustainability of their proposed activities or initiatives are most likely to be successful.  

Projects must commence on 1 November 2025 (or as close to this date as possible) and be completed within twelve months.