3.4.4.2 Preparing for and holding a formal exploratory meeting

Individuals interested in developing a Cochrane Field are first advised to consult The Cochrane Library, to ascertain whether others have already expressed a similar interest. A search of The Cochrane Library will also help them to identify:

• the aims and principles of The Cochrane Collaboration
• the location and contact details of their nearest Cochrane Centre
• the contact details of all registered and possible Cochrane Fields
• whether Cochrane reviews relevant to their area of health care are currently being prepared or maintained
• that those trials relevant to their Field have been identified 
• how to access the Master List of Handsearched Journals being searched by The Cochrane Collaboration

The next step should be to identify and contact the reference Cochrane Centre and also the nearest Field (either geographically or as a dimension of health care) which is able to act as a mentor.

A representative of the Monitoring and Registration Committee (MaRC) should be invited to attend the exploratory meeting(s). If an MaRC representative cannot attend (either in person, by VOIP or by teleconference), the organisers of the exploratory meeting(s) should ensure they discuss the registration process and a provisional agenda for the meeting(s) with an MaRC representative in advance. The aim of MaRC involvement is to help to ensure that the meeting(s) is/are as useful as possible to inform the proposed Field's potential application for formal registration. There should be formal feedback to the MaRC representative, CCSG representative, and Entity Executive, to ensure effective communication, which should include a person-to-person discussion (e.g. by telephone) with the MaRC representative, and circulation of the exploratory meeting(s) minutes to the MaRC representative.

The reference Cochrane Centre will support the possible Field by:

• making arrangements for one or more representatives of the potential Field to visit a Cochrane Centre for face-to-face discussions with the director and any other people who may be able to help.
• attending, contributing to, and possibly chairing, the Formal Exploratory Meeting
• informing The Cochrane Collaboration as a whole about developments following the Formal Exploratory Meeting

The mentoring Field will support the Possible Field by:

• commenting on draft letters, strategy documents, applications for funds, meeting agendas
• using their experience to help facilitate the development of the Field, attending (if resources allow)
• contributing to the Formal Exploratory Meeting

If, after their discussions with their reference Cochrane Centre, individuals feel encouraged to proceed with the establishment of a Cochrane Field they should submit their contact details through the reference Cochrane Centre to The Cochrane Collaboration. An appropriate notice, including the relevant contact details, will appear in the subsequent issue of The Cochrane Library advising readers of the emergence of a possible new Cochrane Field.

Formal Exploratory Meetings

Formal exploratory meetings are meetings convened to assess whether the basis and the will exist to establish a new Cochrane Field in a specific area of health care. They may have a number of objectives, depending on the terrain of the area of care under discussion. The following objectives have formed the basis for agendas in the past:

• to introduce and make explicit the interests of those attending
• to introduce The Cochrane Collaboration and its working methods
• to review relevant existing work, including any systematic reviews of RCTs or specialised registers of RCTs
• to make arrangements to organise a systematic search for RCTs in the Field
• to try to avoid possible conflicts and disappointments in the future by ensuring that people who may not really want to become involved (or who may not be suited to working collaboratively with others), are given opportunities to support The Cochrane Collaboration in other ways
• to generate a list of possible authors associated with the Field, and consider how they might contribute to existing or future Cochrane Review Groups
• to assess what resources already exist for developing a Field and to invite each of the participants at the meeting to indicate what he or she would be prepared to contribute
• to make it clear that those who wish to become involved in establishing and maintaining a Field will be responsible for seeking whatever additional resources may be required
• to agree an agenda and timetable for action

If such a meeting is to provide a useful starting point for running a successful Field, the preparatory work must be sensitive to ‘the politics’ of the particular area of health care in question. It is always advisable to involve participants from a number of countries and from a range of disciplines from the outset, so that the endeavour can be clearly seen to be internationally based and multi-disciplined. Evidence of this breadth of membership and interest will be required later for a successful application to register the Field with The Cochrane Collaboration.

Because of these requirements, it might be tempting to hold a Formal Exploratory meeting as part of a larger international meeting where many potential supporters of the Field may already be gathered. However, experience within The Cochrane Collaboration has shown that this strategy can be counter-productive. The establishment of any Cochrane entity is of enough importance, requires sufficient time and attention to detail, and demands such a high level of commitment from those who ultimately agree to take the entity forward to registration, that it warrants an occasion and a venue which is free from distraction and which allows the attention of the participants to be focused on the single range of issues before them.

For practical reasons one or more smaller pre-Exploratory Meetings may be required to build up the support necessary for a successful outcome of the Formal Exploratory meeting. It is events such as these that might be sensibly held in conjunction with larger national or international gatherings. Such meetings have the benefit of drawing from a large audience and reducing the inconvenience, in terms of cost and time, of those attending. Organizers of a small pre-Exploratory Meeting should call on their reference Cochrane Centre and their nearest Field for advice and practical support.

There is no minimum quorum for a Exploratory Meeting but a turn-out that is lower than might reasonably be expected for the Field, or a meeting of individuals drawn predominately from one country or clinical discipline, generally indicates that insufficient global interest in the Field has been generated to guarantee widespread and continued support.

Certain individuals are required to be present at the Formal Exploratory Meeting:

• the Director, or representative, of the reference Cochrane Centre
• at least one representative from a registered Cochrane Field
• representatives of one or more Cochrane Review Group who have an interest in the establishment of the proposed Field
• one or more consumers or patient representatives from the Field’s dimension of care with an interest in establishing consumer representation within the Field
• other people whom the organizers of the Meeting believe have both the interest, commitment and access to resources to take on the role of Field Co-ordinator.
• a member of the Monitoring and Registration Group.

It has become a convention within The Cochrane Collaboration that Formal Exploratory Meetings organized to establish Cochrane Review Groups last for about one and a half days. This is a sensible convention for all new possible Fields to follow. It allows people attending the meeting to hear the case for establishing a new Field, mix socially over dinner, take their rest and the following morning give their considered decision whether or not they are able to contribute to such a the Field.

If the Formal Exploratory Meeting has identified sufficient expressions of support and the case has been made to establish the Field, the organisers of the Meeting should inform their reference Cochrane Centre of this in writing. The Centre will pass this news on and the status of the entity in The Cochrane Library will be changed to ‘Probable Field’.

Sometimes, however, Formal Exploratory Meetings reveal that efforts to establish a Field would not be worthwhile. In such instances, people can contribute to The Cochrane Collaboration in other ways such as by contributing to Review Groups, by helping to co-ordinate work in other Fields, and by exploring ways of ensuring that Cochrane reviews reach those who need them.