Our advisors

About our advisors

We have two groups who advise on all areas of the project: one group of young people and one group of adults. Our advisors are very important as they each bring a unique perspective to the project. Advisors help shape the direction of the project and make key decisions for each of the research studies.

Young People’s Advisory Group (YPAG)

Bristol’s Young People’s Advisory Group, also known as ‘YPAG’, is made up of young people between the ages of 10-22 interested in contributing to health and care research. It was founded as part of Generation R, a national initiative by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The group is supported by NIHR Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) West and Bristol’s Biomedical Research Centre (BRC). The YPAG is organised by Lucy Condon and Eva Roberts, and formerly by Mike Bell.

What does YPAG do?

  • Help the researchers make the Create for Confidence project useful for young people
  • Suggest ideas for the research
  • Give feedback on early research plans (in group sessions, both online and in person)
  • Give feedback on written information (e.g. study information sheets and consent forms)
  • Make key decisions about the project (e.g. the YPAG suggested project names and voted for the best one (Create for Confidence!), and designed the logo)
  • Help interview researchers applying for jobs with the Create for Confidence team
  • Try out creative activities and group discussions and give feedback
  • Run group sessions as peer researchers with other young people
  • Put research findings into context for the researchers
  • Help interpret findings
  • Work out the best ways of sharing research with other young people

Adult advisory group

Our adult advisory group is a mix of parents of teenagers, art therapists, teachers, artists, mental health professionals and school professionals.

What does the adult advisory group do?

  • Suggest ideas for the research
  • Give feedback on early research plans (in group sessions, both online and in person)
  • Give feedback on written information (e.g. study information sheets and consent forms)
  • Share experiences and expertise to improve how the research is designed and run
  • Make key decisions about the project (e.g. the group voted for their favourite Create for Confidence logo designed by our YPAG members)
  • Link the Create for Confidence team with others interested in the research (e.g. people who might want to participate in the research or become involved as advisory group members)
  • Put research findings into context for the researchers
  • Help interpret findings
  • Work out who we should share the research with, and the best way to do this

Get involved

If you want to find out more about becoming an advisor then please email us at create-for-confidence@bristol.ac.uk. We are very happy to hear from you!