A Stakeholder Engagement Method Navigator Webtool for Clinical and Translational Science

JENNA RENO, PhD
University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, School of Medicine

Stakeholder engagement is increasingly expected by funders and valued by researchers in clinical and translational science, yet many researchers lack access to expert consultation or training in selecting appropriate stakeholder engagement methods. Scalable infrastructure could support improvements in stakeholder-engaged research, and self-directed, web-based interactive tools are emerging solutions across clinical and translational research. We undertook an iterative process of design, development, and testing of an interactive web-based tool (henceforth “webtool”) to guide researchers in learning about, selecting and using a variety of methods for stakeholder-engaged research for their grant writing, protocol planning, implementation, and evidence dissemination.

Design Thinking methods were used to engage stakeholders, including investigators from the Anschutz Medical campus and Colorado Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute communities, who are interested in using stakeholder engagement methods for research.

The design and development of the engagement methods webtool was guided by user-centered design processes. We followed the Design Thinking stages described by Ideo.org: Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, and Test. Design Thinking stages are iterative in nature – such that progress from one stage to another often returns to prior stages with new insights. We conducted an environmental scan and literature review, along with investigator interviews, surveys, and engagement expert facilitated group discussion. We formally reviewed and catalogued 29 distinct engagement methods. To develop the webtool we used an iterative design process that included a contextual inquiry approach (low fidelity prototype user testing) and a ‘Think Aloud’ approach (high fidelity webtool prototype user testing) to produce webtool V1.0.

As prioritized during user testing, the Stakeholder Engagement Navigator webtool both educates and guides investigators in selecting an engagement method based on key criteria. Insights from the Empathize and Define stages included: Researchers understand that stakeholder engagement is valuable and want to include it in their research design and implementation; however, researchers are not familiar with stakeholder engagement methods. Based on the environmental scan of comparable tools from the Empathize stage, we developed a modification of an interactive “bubble” feature that displayed results. The V1.0 Navigator webtool filters methods first by purpose of engagement (noted by 62% of users as the highest priority criteria), then by budget, time per stakeholder interaction, and total interactions.

The Stakeholder Engagement Navigator webtool is a user-centered, interactive webtool suitable for use by researchers seeking guidance on appropriate stakeholder engagement methods for clinical and translational research projects.