VOICE: Make your VOICE heard
VOICE is a citizen involvement organisation, network and digital platform. It uses the experience, ideas and insights of people to ensure that research and innovation focus' on the real needs and priorities of real people.
What is VOICE?
VOICE is a citizen-involvement organisation, network and digital platform. It uses the experience, ideas and insights of people to ensure that research and innovation focus on the needs and priorities of real people.
Embedded in The UK National Innovation Centre for Ageing, VOICE also works with businesses from concept to market. It identifies unmet needs and co-designs new, desirable products and services to support healthy, long lives.
What volunteering activity can I undertake with them?
VOICE is a platform where researchers can post opportunities for members to engage. From events through to public representation, there are a number of ways for you to get involved in helping to progress ageing research.
You can take part in as much or as little as you like, remotely or in person. It can fit in with your interests and schedule. Best of all, it’s free of charge to join the network.
What can I currently get involved with?
There are opportunities from institutions across the UK including:
- Improving mental wellbeing for people newly diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes, at Bournemouth University
- Early diagnosis of head and neck cancer – what helps and hinders?, at Newcastle University
A few current opportunities are highlighted below:
Help support an application for blood cancer research
Have you or someone you care for been diagnosed with blood cancer? If so, you are invited to be involved in shaping and guiding a project which aims to assess cancer risk in children and young adults who have underwent CT procedures. You will not be a participant in the research but will instead be happy to share your experience in supporting a grant application to ensure the patients' voice is heard. You will also help review plans, discuss results from the research, and aid in decisions to disseminate findings.
How you can help
Your voice is central to the research. By supporting the application, you will help shape the study from a patient’s perspective.
You are eligible to take part if you:
- have been diagnosed with blood cancer, or
- care for someone with a diagnosis.
No prior research experience is needed, just a willingness to share your insights and a passion for improving patient care.
What to expect
- Individuals will be asked to share their personal experiences of living with blood cancer. This may include discussing your diagnosis, treatment journey, and the impact on daily life. These stories will provide valuable insights to support the application and help shape the research focus.
- Meetings will take place twice a year for about an hour, online (e.g., via Zoom).
- Occasional as required opportunity to review and inform project materials and approach.
Your experience matters—join us in making a difference in blood cancer studies.
Project duration: 13 January 2025 - 31 March 2026
The changing climate and its impact
Share your thoughts on how changes in the climate might affect your daily life and your health. This questionnaire is for people in England who are over 18 years old. It should take about 10-15 minutes to complete. Your answers will help to shape research on the link between climate change and health. By taking part, you will help contribute to understanding the public’s concerns and ensure future research addresses the issues that matter most to you.
3-4 people will be invited to join a follow-up conversation. If you’re interested, you can also help to shape future research proposals as a co-producer of questions and output strategy. There’s a section at the end of the questionnaire where you can leave your contact details if you’d like to take part in this follow-up opportunity.
Project closing date and time: Friday 31 January 2025 | 22:00
Perceptions of hospital care among men with two or more long-term conditions
One in four adults in the UK are living with multiple long-term conditions – two or more mental or physical conditions lasting for 12 months or more – which can result in complex care pathways and longer stays in hospital. Despite this, there is limited understanding of how people with multiple long-term conditions experience both inpatient and outpatient hospital care.
A new interview study aims to address this important gap, but men have so far been underrepresented. You are invited to take part if you:
- identify as male
- are 18 years of age or older
- are living with two or more long-term health conditions
- have experienced inpatient or outpatient care from a UK hospital in the past 12 months.
Taking part in the study involves an interview (in-person, online, or by phone) lasting around 90 minutes in which you will be asked how you feel about the quality of care you have received in hospitals.
Project closing date and time: Friday 28 February 2025 | 17:00
iSupport-PD, supporting informal carers of people with Parkinson's
About the project
A team of researchers are testing and evaluating a new website called SparC, which has been developed by care partners and experts. SparC provides important information and training to anyone who provides care for a person with Parkinson's that has problems with their memory, thinking or behaviour. They are looking for care partners to test SparC and to see if it is useful and engaging.
What is involved?
This is a trial study; you will be randomised to either access Sparc, or continue with your usual support, for 6 months. Everyone will have access to SparC at the end of the study.
You will be asked to complete some questionnaires and invited to take part in an optional interview.
What's in it for you?
Hopefully, you will benefit from the information within SparC and you will be helping researchers to understand how to support care partners of people with Parkinson's.
Project closing date and time: Monday 31 March 2025 | 21:00