Technology and Mental Health Involvement Team

Role profile for team member

This document sets out the role of the Involvement team, the personal attributes required of Involvement Volunteersand how the team will work in practice. This document has been developed with members of the involvement team.

A. The Involvement Team

The Involvement Team is made up of Involvement Volunteers, plus the Involvement Team leader (currently a part time post with MindTech) and the lead for involvement and engagement (currently Sue Brown, a Research Fellowworking across MindTech and BRC Mental Health and Technology theme).

The role of anInvolvement Volunteer is to:

  1. Participate in meetings and email discussions, as individuals, working alone or with others, where members will contribute knowledge and expertise from personal experience. These meetings will include consultations about new projects, seminars, training events, conferences and symposia, hack events, and networking meetings.
  2. Support the development, as individuals, working alone or with others, of involvement plans for individual research projects that are put forward for funding.
  3. Support the expansion of the MindTech Engagement Network by advocating for the work of MindTech and the opportunity to get involved to make a difference.

Meetings take place on a monthly basis, with other meetings called as necessary (which usually works out as one or two meetings a month in total, but can vary). You don’t have to attend every meeting, but you should try and attend the monthly meetings where possible. The extra meetings are usually on an opt-in basis.

Other staff members of MindTech and the BRC Mental Health and Technology theme(BRC for short) will interact with the members of the involvement team on a regular basis. Involvement Volunteers will be represented in the MindTech management team by the Involvement Team leader.

B. Essential personal attributes of involvement volunteers

  1. A willingness and ability to draw on lived experience in relation to mental health and bring this knowledge and insight to the work of MindTech. By lived experience, we mean personal experience of looking after your own mental health and/or close relationships with others who have experienced mental health problems (e.g. as a carer or supporter of family and friends with mental health problems).
  2. Experience of involvement, that is, making an active contribution to influence the delivery of health and/or social care services, education or research.
  3. An interest in and willingness to learn about one or more fields of digital technology, for example, digital interventions, social media, informatics, gaming, internet research.
  4. A willingness and ability to challenge perceived orthodoxies (that is, to challenge established ways of thinking or practice) and offer alternative ways of doing things (drawing on your experience of lived experience, knowledge and insights from the service user community, and involvement experience).

C. The offer to Involvement Volunteers

Involvement volunteers will be able to:

  1. assist in the research of new technology in the NHS that demonstrates potential to meet unmet needs of people with mental health difficulties.
  2. have the opportunity to participate in challenging and creative interactions between innovators, academics, clinicians, and MindTech staff and researchers.
  3. have their support and access needs met so they can fulfil the task to the best of their abilities and have the opportunity for learning and development.
  4. keep in touch with other Involvement Volunteers through attending monthly team meetings and by email discussions.
  5. have the opportunity to become aligned with one of the MindTech clinical themes and act as lead involvement team member, liaising directly with the relevant researcher.
  6. have the opportunity to bring ideas for future research to MindTech and explore options for developing funding applications.

D. Reward and recognition

Volunteers will have any out-of-pocket expenses for subsistence and travel covered (either through booking tickets in advance, petty cash or claiming reimbursement through MindTech Expense claim form) and be offered a fee to recognise time, skill and expertise, which will be claimed via the MindTech Participation Invoice Form. The fees offered are set out in the table below; these rates may change, but currently the rates offered are as follows:

Activity / Fee
Preparation (for example, reading papers) and participation in MindTech meetings
This is a sessional rate considered to be up to half a day’s activity which are the most common meetings and events. For a full day’s activity a claim of £90 can be made as agreed with MindTech staff. / £45.00
Completing peer/lay reviews, for example, grant applications, plans and strategy documents, research summaries.
This fee will also be offered for ad hoc activities such as additional preparation for meetings (e.g. giving a talk, preparing for a workshop) or online conversation about projects and grant applications. / £30.00

E. Recruitment process for applying to join

Given the skills, experience and nature of the role, a process or system for appointing people to the Involvement Volunteer role is required.

Involvement Volunteers will be required to demonstrate relevant experience and skills to meet the requirements of the role before appointment. This will be through:

  • a personal statement to support your application (see ‘to apply’ below)
  • an informal interview (if shortlisted). The informal interview would be with theresearcher Lead for Involvement (a Research Fellow)and the Involvement Team leader (an involvement representative).

To apply:

To apply, you should write a personal statement of no more than 200 words to show how you meet the requirements of the role. This should include:

  • a summary of your personal experience (as this is an asset to this role we are interested in how your personal experience will help you fulfil this role, rather than a detailed medical history)
  • examples of your involvement experience
  • your interest in digital technologies
  • examples to demonstrate your ability to fulfil the main tasks of the role (see section B)

We will then check applications and carry out a shortlisting process for interview (based on how applicants meet the requirements of the role). Soon after the informal interviews, a decision will be made whether to offer an invitation to join the Involvement Team. The decision will be based on individuals meeting the personalattributes for the role, evidence of ability to fulfil the tasks of the team and achieving a balance of perspectives with existing membership.

Please submit your personal statement by midday on Mon 23rd October by emailing it to Sue Brown , or if you’d prefer post then please post it to Sue at the following address:

Sue Brown, MindTech

Institute of Mental Health

Triumph Road

Nottingham

NG7 2TU

In the meantime, if you have any questions, feel free to get in touch with Sue on 0115 7484209 or by email.

F. Joining the Involvement Team

Once an invitation has been accepted, Involvement Volunteers will prepare to get involved. You will be asked to:

  • sign a confidentiality agreement and ‘code of working practice’
  • note the date of the next team meeting (attendance is encouraged but not compulsory)
  • provide a biography for the MindTech website
  • collect an induction pack, which will include:
  • Introduction to MindTech and BRC
  • Jargon buster
  • Code of working practice
  • Copy of Involvement Strategy
  • Map and travel directions to the Institute of Mental Health
  • Information on how to claim fees and expenses

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