Day in the life Its great that research has made a real difference i v e D , s e i v a D a l e g n A : t f e e e r F e From l n i r e h t a K , s n o d d i S a s i L , r a g a S We talk to the Versus Arthritis Research Liaison Team about its work and why helping to communicate research results clearly and widely is so vital Our main functions are research communication, education and involvement engaging researchers, people with arthritis, the general public and charity colleagues around the research we fund. There are eight of us in the liaison and evaluation team, based either in Chesterfield or London, with four of us working on communicating about research. We answer queries about what were funding, why were funding it and what it means for people with arthritis. We oversee communications with our research community, for example through our regular research newsletter and research webpages, and provide training for staff around our research activities. Its amazing looking at all the fantastic research we are funding, and understanding how it can help people. Some of the projects are really innovative, some are just brilliant in their simplicity. Its great to be able to help tell the story about the research we do and share that with people with arthritis to show them the different ways research is trying to make a difference for them. We actively support the involvement of people with arthritis in our research activities. We do this through our Patient Insight network. We are currently funding more than 330 projects ourselves and in partnership with other funders ranging from fundamental science and clinical trials to research into how services are provided. We also support the careers of researchers from PhD funding right through to senior researcher awards and professorial positions to make sure we are helping nurture exceptional research in arthritis and related conditions. There is no typical day in our team. We can be involved in a wide range of activities, such as: answering questions from the public; working on press releases; organising workshops; updating web pages; and providing research insight to charity projects. Were constantly looking for projects that people would want to hear about. We are working on a large project called Bringing Research to Life. This will allow us to understand what people want to know, and how we can communicate this effectively. Research underpins a lot of what we do, so we want everyone who works in the charity to feel confident talking about it. We work closely with all our research communities to translate their research. We want everyone to benefit. We focus on why we are funding the research, and the impact it could have on people with arthritis. This might be new drug treatments, self-management approaches, or a change in health policy. Were aware that research offers hope, but we need to be cautious about how we talk about it. It might be at an early stage and a long way from being available. It has great potential, but we dont want to give people false hope and make promises we arent in a position to fulfil right now. Its great being able to provide evidence of how our research has made a difference. Seeing how the research we fund has the potential to make a difference to people with arthritis is a real motivator for us. n To find out more, email researchliaison@versusarthritis.org AS TOLD TO: PHIL LATTIMORE Take part To bring our research to life, we are carrying out a short survey to help us to understand the type of research that people would like to know about, how easy it is to find information about our research, and to get an idea of how to share research information in the future. If you would like to take part, please visit http://bit.ly/VAresearchsurvey2