3. Getting started and making a project plan
This initial stage involves appointing project facilitators (and helpers for the events), setting up a steering group, and developing a step-by-step project plan.
New Beginnings project plan
The New Beginnings steering group met at critical stages of the project.
- Before the project started
- Before the feedback events
- After the first co-design group
- After the celebration event
Listen to what Andrew said about keeping on track with the project plan:
Emma describes using the Point of Care Foundation toolkit:
It is important to remember that you cannot say at the beginning what your specific aims are, but you can keep the aim open ended, for example, “Making theatre a kinder, friendlier and more welcoming place to have a baby”. How your aim is achieved will emerge during the EBCD process.
But you don’t have to be perfect!
Ethics
You also need to determine whether what you are doing is a research project, or a quality improvement / implementation project, as this will determine some of the steps you need to take for the governance / ethics approval for the project. The resources below will help guide you on the process for ethics approval.
- https://www.hra.nhs.uk/approvals-amendments/what-approvals-do-i-need/
- https://www.hra-decisiontools.org.uk/research/
Even if it is not a research project, you still need to conduct the project in an ethical way, and make sure that all the participants have information about the project and give their consent to being filmed and for their stories to be shared. See EBCD toolkit for more advice.