The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published a public health guideline on Community engagement in 2008. Following a review of the guideline, in 2011, NICE has decided to update the recommendations.  A series of evidence reviews and an economic analysis are being conducted to address the key questions that are set out in the scope. The scope also provides details of the community engagement activities that will be covered.

• Final scope

We would like to receive details of evidence that relates to the questions below and are outlined in the scope:

• Question 1: How effective and cost effective are community engagement approaches at improving health and wellbeing and reducing health inequalities?
• Question 2: How effective and cost effective are community engagement approaches at encouraging people to participate in activities to improve their health and wellbeing and realise their capabilities – particularly people from disadvantaged groups?
• Question 3: What processes and methods help communities and individuals realise their potential and make use of all the resources (people and material) available to them?
• Question 4: Are there unintended consequences from adopting community engagement approaches?
• Question 5: What barriers and facilitators affect the delivery of effective community engagement activities – particularly to people from disadvantaged groups?

We are interested in identifying studies that have been published since 2000 or any ongoing research that is being conducted that relates to the review questions outlined above. We are interested in a broad range of different types of evidence. It may be quantitative or qualitative research. The studies may be published in journals, texts or monographs.

An economic analysis of the cost effectiveness of community engagement approaches at improving health and wellbeing and reducing health inequalities will also be conducted. To support this work, we are particularly interested in data that might help populate an economic model. This includes various costs such as health and social care costs, service use, productivity and civic engagement costs as well as the costs to other sectors including business of taking part in an intervention. It could also include data on the provision and cost of training, payments or incentives to volunteers, and additional costs of recruitment, encouraging participation or uptake of services, particularly among disadvantaged groups. We are also interested in costs to community members and volunteers (including their time or productivity losses). Research on mapping state specific outcome measures onto utility measures would also be of interest.

We are particularly interested in evidence that may help to better promote equality of opportunity relating to age, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion and belief, sex, sexual orientation or socio-economic status.

Please note that the following material is not eligible for consideration:

• Promotional material.
• Unsubstantiated or non-evidence-based assertions of effectiveness.
• Opinion pieces
• Forms with attachments of published material, or hard copy of published material

In addition, we are interested in identifying information about:

• Process evaluations of UK community engagement projects.
• Current or recent UK community engagement projects that would be agreeable to case-study research. The focus will be practitioner and community’s views; support systems, structures and delivery processes; local resources, needs and priorities; approaches and practices; outcomes, sustainability and costs. The research will be conducted by Leeds Metropolitan University and the University of East London; it would commence from August 2014 and involve a number of interviews and focus groups with key participants.

Published material

Please send either full reference details (which are to include author/s, title, date, journal or publication details including volume and issue number and page numbers), not a PDF/WORD attachment or hard copy, using the published material submission form  by 5pm on 8 July 2014 to CommunityEngagementProgramme@nice.nhs.uk.

Unpublished material

If you are aware of trials/ongoing research relevant to our questions which are in progress please could you help us to identify that information by providing relevant information such as a link to a registered trial or a protocol for the research.

If you wish to submit academic in confidence material i.e. written but not yet published, or commercial in confidence i.e. internal documentation, please could you highlight which sections are confidential by using the highlighter function in Word.

Please send any relevant evidence details using the unpublished material submission form by 5pm on 8 July 2014 to CommunityEngagementProgramme@nice.nhs.uk.

We look forward to receiving information on this and thank you in advance for your help.