JLA Guidebook

Roles & responsibilities

The following is a summary of the key competencies, tasks and responsibilities relating to roles within a JLA PSP. All PSPs are different, and therefore the resource needs may vary between PSPs, but the summary below provides an example of the typical roles required to successfully complete a PSP.

JLA Adviser

Competencies

  • Detailed knowledge of the priority setting process and the JLA Guidebook
  • Facilitation and chairing skills and experience
  • Public speaking skills
  • Negotiation sensitivity and ability to arbitrate in the absence of expert knowledge of the topic
  • Good communication and people skills, ability to recognise and manage the potential personal and political sensitivities of the topic

Example tasks

  • Chair regular Steering Group meetings
  • Chair first awareness meeting
  • Provide ad hoc support in use of Guidebook
  • Provide support for data management process and interim priority setting exercise
  • Chair final priority setting workshop, with at least 2 other JLA Advisers to facilitate small group work
  • Ad hoc meetings/presentations
  • Liaise with other people working with the PSP

Average time needed over the 12-18-month priority setting work of the PSP

10 days

PSP Lead

Competencies

  • Collaborative, in order to work effectively with all Steering Group members and the stakeholders of the PSP
  • Will take overall responsibility for successful delivery of the PSP, including securing the resources required to run the process, and for making sure that the Steering Group follows the JLA Adviser's recommendations with regard to JLA priority setting methods
  • The institution where the lead of the PSP is based will have overall responsibility for all data protection laws, safeguarding and other legal requirements
  • Well connected within the PSP's health area, or able to develop the right networks to encourage participation in the process and support for the PSP's outputs
  • An understanding of, and commitment to, partnership working between patients, carers and healthcare professionals
  • Able to communicate effectively with patients and carers, as well as health professionals

Example tasks

  • Will work closely with the JLA Adviser, the project administrator/ coordinator and the Steering Group to champion the PSP and ensure it is successfully promoted, completed and disseminated to funders.

Average time needed over the 12-18-month priority setting work of the PSP

Varies with time taken to set up and scope the PSP, organise funding, organise a Steering Group, and other tasks taken on by the leader throughout the project and after the priority setting work is complete.

PSP Coordinator

Competencies

  • Good written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to communicate effectively with people from different backgrounds
  • Excellent organisational skills and ability to work to deadlines
  • Attention to detail
  • Collaborative and flexible
  • Partnership working with Steering Group members
  • Access to appropriate online surveying tools and skills
  • Social media use
  • Ability to present results clearly and succinctly

Example tasks

  • Organise Steering Group meetings, including producing agendas and related paperwork
  • Write and follow up on action notes
  • Manage communications with the Steering Group, stakeholders and the community
  • Prepare a website
  • Communicate via Twitter
  • Develop the questions/survey
  • Seek feedback from Steering Group and amend
  • Place survey online (potential additional software cost)
  • Pilot with small group of people and amend
  • Help to publicise the survey
  • Download the survey results ready for the information specialist to work on
  • Regularly report on results of survey to Steering Group
  • Coordinate interim survey stages
  • Organise the priority setting workshop including participant recruitment and venue coordination

Average time needed over the 12-18-month priority setting work of the PSP

A minimum of 1-2 days per week for the priority setting work of the PSP, depending on activities which fall into this role

Information Specialist

Competencies

  • Database management experience
  • Critical appraisal skills: comfortable with managing and categorising large amounts of qualitative data
  • Ability to carry out qualitative analysis of the categorised data to produce summary research questions
  • Experience of medical terminology
  • Attention to detail - methodical and organised
  • Able to work to deadlines
  • Ability to communicate complex data to patients, carers and clinicians
  • Familiarity with JLA process would be helpful, but not mandatory
  • Awareness of the PSP health area would be useful, but not mandatory

Example tasks

  • Clean and organise the raw data from the initial PSP survey
  • Examine each submitted 'uncertainty' and allocate into categories with guidance from Steering Group
  • Format submissions into PICO format where possible
  • Liaise with the PSP Steering Group on work to identify relevant systematic reviews and guidelines, and any other relevant sources of evidence
  • Check the in-scope formatted questions against the evidence base, noting true uncertainties and questions that have already been answered
  • Prepare a long list of verified uncertainties for interim prioritisation
  • Provide regular updates of progress to the PSP project team and Steering Group and work within overall timescales agreed across the PSP

Average time needed over the 12-18-month priority setting work of the PSP

20 - 30 days. The precise amount of analysis will depend on the number of survey responses