Participant input

It is important to us to get the opinions and perspectives of our participants during the development and running of the CSS Biobank research. To help with this, we have set up two Volunteer Advisory Panels (VAPs).

Our VAPs comprise representative participants from across the UK. The VAP, consisting of 17 volunteers, meets with the study team online and also provides input via email. The eVAP, with 94 volunteers, contributes exclusively via email. Both panels were originally formed in the summer of 2021 and were renewed in 2025. We thank all former and current VAP members for their valuable input.

Examples of how our VAP members advise us are by giving feedback about the feasibility of our research plans and suggesting perspectives for us to consider when planning research. They also advise on questionnaires and other study material design, and test questionnaires, and help us make sense of emerging results from the perspectives of people with different experiences of COVID.