AB1627-HPR DEVELOPMENT OF AN ACTIONABLE AND COMPREHENSIVE STAKEHOLDER INVOLVEMENT STRATEGY FOR COMPLEX MULTINATIONAL PROJECTS: THE SQUEEZE EXPERIENCE
Authors: L. Carmona, E. Loza, T. Oton, K. Vladimirova, A. Kocher, S. De Geest
Journal: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (2024)

<h3>Background:</h3> Complex multinational projects aiming at developing solutions in healthcare, like the SQUEEZE project, need to build fruitful relationships with stakeholders to make the research more efficient, relevant and implementable. Many institutions and networks have developed frameworks for stakeholder engagement. Still, the practicalities are unclear, and many are focused solely on patient and public involvement, not on the involvement of researchers, clinicians, or other stakeholders. <h3>Objectives:</h3> To develop a stakeholder strategy efficient enough to provide clear guidance on where, when, and how to involve stakeholders in the context of the SQUEEZE project. To implement it and test it in the first year after its development. <h3>Methods:</h3> The overall SQUEEZE stakeholder strategy was built systematically and iteratively adapting Barkhordarian et al.'s framework [1] consisting of seven steps: 1) Defining, 2) Long-listing, 3) Mapping, 4) Visualizing, 5) Verifying, 6) Mobilizing, and 6) Evaluating. After the development and endorsement, the evaluation included the evaluation of KPIs: stakeholder satisfaction, engagement, influence, and impact. For their measurement, we developed surveys and interviews. <h3>Results:</h3> The SQUEEZE stakeholder strategy included objectives, values, and actionable points. Several rounds of eliciting dynamics, including patient journeys, favoured an exhaustive long listing that was further reduced. All the identified stakeholders were categorised into significant domains for the project. The work-package (WP) leaders were then surveyed to identify which of the listed stakeholders were relevant for their studies and outputs and why and whether they could identify additional critical stakeholders. The level of preferred engagement was finally decided for each stakeholder on their relevance for implementing SQUEEZE products, the level of influence, and the likelihood of engagement. The stakeholders were then mapped into the research cycle phases to identify the timing for involvement. Finally, actionable strategies were established by tailoring the different groups to the tasks in the SQUEEZE WPs and adding potential outcomes to guide the evaluation, e.g., improved retention rates and recruitment for the involvement of PRPs, etc. The strategies include specific training, recruitment for focus groups, webinars, checklists, etc. After 6 months of issuing the strategy, the WP leaders identified some areas for improvement (Table 1). The survey to stakeholders showed high levels of engagement and satisfaction with the project. The discussions with the strategy team disclosed potential drawbacks of the strategy that had not been well implemented. <b>Table 1.</b> Overview of the stakeholder strategy evaluation by the WP leaders (randomly represented in columns). <h3>Conclusion:</h3> The SQUEEZE stakeholder strategy provides a comprehensive approach for stakeholder involvement in all work packages of this complex international multinational project. Evaluation, an often-missing part of stakeholder involvement strategies, is an inherent part of the strategy. The developed strategy can be a blueprint for other projects. <h3>REFERENCES:</h3> [1] Barkhordarian A, et al. J Transl Med. 2015;13:15. <h3>Acknowledgements:</h3> This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 101095052 and from the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI). <h3>Disclosure of Interests:</h3> <b>None declared.</b>