A Thousand Fibres Connect Us: Using Social Network Analysis to Visualise Social Capital in Public Involvement

Wallis, Selina ORCID: 0000-0002-5490-0528, Jones, Hayley, Dixon, Pete, Lloyd, Peter, Hedgecoe, Lynn, Cunningham, Sian and Byrne, Paula (2025) A Thousand Fibres Connect Us: Using Social Network Analysis to Visualise Social Capital in Public Involvement [Poster]

PDF 35_Wallis_Selina.pdf - Author Accepted Manuscript Download (494kB) | Preview

Description

Introduction The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Applied Research Collaboration North West (ARC NWC) is an academic partnership of 60+ organisations andover 100 Public Advisors (PAs) working to reduce health inequalities. This project was initiated and led by PAs. We used social network analysis (SNA) to ask: What value lies within our Public Advisor network? Methods Twenty-eight PAs mapped organisational links via a coproduced proforma. Answers were in free text. We cleaned the data, grouped organisations into 12 types, and scored each link for engagement, influence, and value,these were then aggregated per and averaged by role. A bipartite network in R (visNetwork v2.1.2, Fruchterman-Reingold) visualised patterns. Findings 28 PAs mapped connections to 90 organisations, including local, regional, national, and international bodies Mean number of organisations per PA = 3.2 (range = 1 to 8) Length of connection ranged from <1year to +50 years and >700 years of collective experience Type of connection ranged from volunteer, member, governor, student, to chairman of the board of director and founder SNA is a method that can reveal the social capital in PA networks Conclusion We found PAs have a profusion of links to a wide range of organisation types. Next steps are to work out how to make use of them to maximise impact and influence of ARC NWC’s work

Item Type:	Poster
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Social Network Analysis, Coproduction, Public Involvement, Health Research
Divisions:	Faculty of Health & Life Sciences Faculty of Health & Life Sciences > Inst. Population Health Faculty of Health & Life Sciences > Inst. Population Health > Primary Care & Mental Health
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	27 Oct 2025 08:56
Last Modified:	27 Oct 2025 08:56
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3195003
Disclaimer:	The University of Liverpool is not responsible for content contained on other websites from links within repository metadata. Please contact us if you notice anything that appears incorrect or inappropriate.