Engage with the PCP-AC
Thank you for your interest in engaging the VAST Patient and Care Partner Advisory Council (PCP-AC). We ask that you review the following sections so that we can align our expectations on what engagement with the PCP-AC might look like. We cannot guarantee lived experience engagement on your project due to factors that include capacity of the VAST program and the members of the PCP-AC, and overall interest from different groups within our network.
If you’d like to engage a broader group of PWLE, then we would also recommend checking out the Engagement of People with Lived Experience of Dementia (EPLED), or the Patient Advisors Network (PAN), too!
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Before submitting an engagement request, please consider the following eligibility requirements:
Be a member of the VAST network and be working with other VAST network members. Not a member yet? You can register at the link at the bottom of the page.
Be someone looking for people with lived experience to collaborate on your research including planning, conducting, or communicating aspects related to your work. The PCP-AC is not intended to be a source of research participants.
Be open to meeting with the VAST team to discuss and understand your request.
Be willing to report back to the PCP-AC on how their input influenced the project.
Be willing to provide feedback on your experience working with the PCP-AC so that we can work towards improving experiences for people involved.
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Engaging people with lived experience (PWLE) isn’t the same as talking with your colleagues about a research project. You may need to adapt how you speak about topics or present ideas. Fortunately, there’s lots of resources available that provide guidance on engaging PWLE. The following resource is by no means an exhaustive list, but includes some resources we think are useful. You don’t have to read them all, but invite you to consider how you might need to modify your approach when talking about your work.
The Engagement of People with Lived Experience of Dementia’s (EPLED) Suggestions for Researchers Presenting to the EPLED Advisory Group and Tips and Strategies for Engaging People with Lived Experience of Dementia in Research Meetings info sheets
The Canadian Consortium on Neurodegeneration in Aging’s resources page
The Alberta SPOR SUPPORT Unit (AbSPORU) How-to Guide for Researchers
The Accelerating Clinical Trials Consortium’s Patient Engagement Resources sheet
Planning Guidelines from Patients Canada
Patient Partner Orientation Guides from Building Research for Integrated Primary Care Nova Scotia (BRIC NS)
The Saskatchewan Centre for Patient-Oriented Research’s Patient-Oriented Research Level of Engagement Tool (PORLET)
eLearning Modules and Videos from AbSPORU
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Ok, VASTee, you’re committed to working with the VAST team and the PCP-AC, you’ve thought about how you’re going to engage with people with lived experience, and you’re ready to take the next step? We invite you to complete this engagement request and we’ll be in touch with you soon.