4. Contract of Engagement

Developing an agreement of how to work together should be made with the group in order to suit their particular needs and preferences. What may be important for one group may not be as important for another. One example of an agreement created through a facilitated process with its PPI contributors is the Alzheimer’s Society of Ireland Dementia Research Advisory Team (DRAT). The full agreement is available here (https://alzheimer.ie/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/DRAT_Guidelines.pdf).

It states, for any researchers wishing to engage with the team, their preferred way of working and any conditions that should be in place when engaging with them. The agreement is designed ‘to make this easier for us and for you’. An agreement is not, and should not be, a ‘list of demands’; it should be an agreed set of conditions for optimal working. By stating them in advance, it should help researchers to plan their budget and research cycle more effectively.

The areas covered in the Alzheimer Society of Ireland agreement are as follows:

• Meetings – issues such as what time, where, which venues, whether support will be needed;
• Financial Issues – issues such as the payment of expenses, financial acknowledgement of people’s time;
• Communications – issues such as how and when the contributors and the researchers will communicate and via what means, whether a contact person will be in place;
• Materials – issues such as what the style of the communication will be, how legible and readable it will be, how long it will be and how detailed;
• Recognition and Acknowledgement – issues such as how the contributors will be acknowledged in the research, in public events, in papers;
• Input – issues such as when, where and how within the research cycle the contributors will be involved;
• Support – issues such as the support that contributors may be required, which may include support in dealing with potentially sensitive or traumatic issues or may be around practical supports such as a translation of material.

This list is not exhaustive, but it does provide a useful sense of the issues that are often raised by contributors.