Public contributor Anna on why you should invite members of the public to scientific conferences

Anna Ferguson Montague is a long-term public contributor at NIHR ARC West. Here she describes the benefits of attending a large scientific conference as a public contributor.

In July I was invited to the 52^nd Society for Academic Primary Care (SAPC) Annual Scientific Meeting, held over three days at Bristol University. Dr Jessica Watson had kindly extended the invitation as I am one of the co-applicants on her Test Talk Tools project. The theme was sustainable primary care – healthy systems, healthy people.

I was also lucky enough to be invited to the welcome drinks at the Royal West of England Academy, and the gala dinner at Bristol Museum & Art Gallery. What an experience!

The programme for the event was packed full of interesting presentations, posters and workshops. I was really spoilt for choice as there was so much relevant content. Even though some of the sessions were clearly for an academic and clinical audience, I did find them interesting and not too impenetrable.

Cross cutting issues such as health inequalities cropped up in many of them. The sessions were grouped into themes, and I was particularly interested in the public involvement and participatory approaches, inclusion and health, and creative enquiry themes.

It was great to be there as a delegate, not a speaker or participant, just free to soak up all the information and forge new connections. As I’ve been a public contributor for quite some time, I knew a fair few people. Some of them I’d only ever met online so it was great to interact in real life. There were plenty of people attending on their own so I didn’t feel out of place, and there was always someone to strike up a conversation with in the breaks.

Attending this event gave me a much wider perspective around the current health and care research landscape, and a sense of where the projects I am involved with fit into that. Most importantly, I was treated completely as an equal – a delegate alongside clinical and academic colleagues.

I feel inviting public contributors to more events like this would help to cement that sense of true equality. And it’s invaluable to help develop our knowledge. Of course there are budget considerations when inviting public contributors to events, but in my opinion this is money well spent. Remember, nothing about us without us!