Our Culture
Exceptional research can only be achieved with an exceptional culture.
We embrace a “people and team first” culture across all that we do in order to support our team and ensure we create the right environment for excellence to be achieved.
In line with the University of Edinburgh Strategy 2030 and Behavioural Charter we are working to continually improve and invest in our team culture and well-being to continue delivering excellence.
Our culture and well-being values have been developed in collaboration with the Pandemic Science Hub. This new partnership with PSH presents an opportunity for us to further nurture and develop our team’s commitment to collaborative research.
Our Goals
1. Values and Expectations will be clearly and consistently communicated to all of the team (senior, junior, support and professional staff) through specific avenues.
2. We will foster a sense of community. Team members will be encouraged to work together, share their knowledge and ideas, and support one another.
3. We will encourage the development and continuous improvement of our work and team by providing opportunities for professional development through training, conference attendance, and other learning opportunities.
4. We will encourage a culture of curiosity and encourage team members to challenge assumptions.
5. Excellence will be rewarded and celebrated. We will show appreciation for hard work and contributions by all team members by recognition and rewards.
6. A work-life balance will be encouraged and championed to ensure all staff feel they can prioritise their health, well-being, and happiness.
7. We will provide leadership and mentorship to all team members.
Diversity and Inclusion
Within our team we strive to create a diverse and inclusive environment that ensures all members of our team are treated with dignity and respect.
For further information about diversity and inclusion strategies within the university click here.
Our PPIE Commitment
Firstly, what do we mean by Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement in research?
When talking about patient and public involvement and engagement in research, or PPIE for short, we are talking about providing patients and the public the opportunity to become involved in our research programme. To define what is important to them and guide, design and contribute to our research activities. Most importantly we are talking about building partnerships with this very important stakeholder group, to work in collaboration with them.
Patients and public encompass a large group of people. They can be patients, potential patients, carers, generally anyone who uses or may use health and social care services, or organisations supporting and/or representing such users, as well as any interested member of the general public.
Involvement is about ensuring patients and the public are involved in all aspects of the research process, from design through to conduct and dissemination. It should reflect the ‘Nothing about me, without me’ ethos of the Health Research Authority (HRA), the NHS and many PPI groups. Research should be done ‘with or by’ the public not ‘to, for or about’ them.
Engagement is ways in which the research team share details of their work with patients and the public. However, engagement is not just researchers providing information to patients and the public, it is also providing the opportunity for a two-way discussion. For researchers to listen and interact with these important stakeholders.
Here in THT/PSH patients are at the heart of what we are doing. Our research is focused to provide better diagnostic and care options for future healthcare practice. Therefore, it is important that PPIE representatives are involved from the start. In our projects we aim to incorporate PPIE in all elements of our research activities from design through to conduct and dissemination.
We have strong links with a number of PPI groups including ICU Steps and Breathtakers. We see our Patient Representatives as colleagues and collaborators when it come to our research, we have already named some of our PPI representatives as co-applicants in a number of our projects.
We believe our approach to PPIE shows a commitment to prioritising patient and public benefit as one of our core cultures and values within the group.