Grant success through community engagement: CaRE webinar

The video is available for CCS staff and students
via the CCS intranet: Link

 by A/Prof Bridgette Semple on behalf of the Community and Researcher Engagement program, CCS

Are you a researcher interested in working with consumers to write compelling grant applications? Do you want to know more about how to make these grant applications more competitive? If so, you’ve come to the right place! 

On Wednesday 30 November 30 2022, the CCS’s Consumer and Researcher Engagement (CaRE) program committee hosted an informative webinar entitled ”Engaging consumers in grant success.”

This panel discussion, facilitated by Dr Arwel Jones and Ms Patricia Sarmiento, was focused on tips and tricks about including consumers (i.e., community members with lived experience of an illness or disease) in grant applications.  

Funding agencies are increasingly requiring researchers to provide detail on how consumers have been involved in the preparation of grant applications, how the project has been shaped to address consumers’ concerns, and how consumers will be involved throughout the proposed project. Despite such requirements, for many researchers it is still unclear exactly what this process may entail. 

The CaRE webinar addressed this knowledge gap, by bringing together researchers and consumers who are actively involved in grant writing and reviewing of grant applications. Panelists included Professor Christoph Hagemeyer (Head of the NanoBiotechnology Laboratory at Monash University’s Australian Centre for Blood Diseases); Mr Peter B. (a consumer advocate working with Prof Hagemeyer in cardiovascular disease); Professor Anne Holland (Head of Respiratory Research at Monash University and Alfred Health, and reviewer of NHMRC and MRFF grants); and Ms Anna Steiner (a member of the CaRE committee, Executive Administrator of Women in Lymphoma, and an active consumer advocate in blood cancer research). 

The panel discussion focused on what grant reviewers are looking for in terms of consumer engagement. We heard that providing evidence of genuine engagement is key, with all the panellists recommending the need of researchers to be specific and personal in detailing their relationship with  consumer(s). For example, researchers should list how frequently they engage with consumer(s), providing dates and numbers, using individual names. 

Our panellists also shared ways in which a consumer might contribute to the grant writing process, including:

• Reviewing and providing input on the plain English summary,
• Providing feedback on the grant conceptual framework, and/or
• Providing insight about how project findings will affect those with the disease or condition of interest (for example, by use of a quote from the consumer partner).   

“Who is considered to be a valuable consumer?” was another question posed to the panel, with attendees encouraged to think broadly about the definition of a consumer. A consumer may not necessarily be a patient or individual with direct lived experience of a particular disease or condition of interest; instead, they might be a carer, policy maker, or advocacy group. The type of consumer might reflect what you as a researcher are trying to achieve through your connection with them; for example, if you want to demonstrate broad reach within the affected community, or focus on the personal toll of the disease on an individual and their life.  

The key take-home messages for researchers seeking to participate in consumer engagement in grant applications were to:

• Start early - don’t leave consumer engagement to the last minute! Give your consumer the time they need to digest and provide thoughtful feedback about your work. 
• Openly discuss your expectations with your consumer, and hear from them what engagement might look like, depending on the particular situation (e.g., what each party is able and willing to bring to the table); and 
• Focus on establishing authentic, meaningful connections. Superficial or tokenistic attempts at engagement to tick a box on the grant application form are easy to spot. Whereas genuine, mutual relationships between researchers and consumers are highly valued by grant review panels.

To find out more about how CaRE can assist you to connect with a consumer and build an authentic and mutually-beneficial relationship, please see www.monash.edu/medicine/ccs/community-engagement/information-for-researchers or contact the CaRE program at ccs.care@monash.edu.

To hear additional nuggets of valuable insight and advice on engaging consumers in the grant application process, you can access the CaRE webinar recording via the CCS intranet: sites.google.com/a/monash.edu/ccsintranet/ccs-committees/care-committee