Mapping the Ripples: HDRC Surrey’s first Ripple Effects Mapping workshop captures change

When members of HDRC Surrey’s Public Involvement team gathered in December 2025, they were met with a striking sight: a long, blank roll of white paper stretched across the table, waiting to be filled. This wasn’t just paper, it was a canvas for ideas, stories, and ripples of unexpected outcomes spreading across Surrey’s HDRC journey

The occasion marked HDRC Surrey’s first Ripple Effects Mapping (REM) workshop, a participatory evaluation method designed to visually capture the “ripples” created by the programme’s activities since its launch. Facilitated by HDRC’s Evaluation and Impact Lead, the session invited participants to reflect on key moments and impacts that have emerged along the way.

As the paper began to fill, so did the conversation. The session uncovered positive outcomes that went beyond expectations, from creative approaches that boosted engagement to a shared vision for making public involvement more inclusive and accessible to diverse communities. The importance of better communicating changes which occur as a result of public involvement activities back to participants was also emphasised during the workshop.

This workshop is part of HDRC Surrey’s comprehensive evaluation plan, which uses various tools including logic models, the Cube framework and peer review to measure outputs and impact. The insights gathered will inform future activities and strengthen the programme’s commitment to meaningful public involvement.

And this is just the beginning. Further Ripple Effects Mapping workshops are planned over the next six months to build on these findings and explore new ripples as they emerge.

To learn more about Ripple Effects Mapping, see NIHR’s training materials here Introduction to Ripple Effects Mapping - ARC West.