Involving stakeholders in research priority setting: a scoping review

Plain English summary Involving stakeholders already at the beginning of the research process when deciding what to research is called “research priority setting”. Research priority setting brings research closer to the needs and concerns of its stakeholders, particularly patients, family members, friends, carers and ordinary citizens. There is a general need to map out the complex landscape of stakeholder involvement in research priority setting. I found 731 projects that asked stakeholders to identify priorities for research. The projects were conducted along 50 different subject areas ranging from agriculture and environment over health to social work and technology. Most projects identified research priorities for nursing and care, cancer, pediatrics, and mental, behavioral and neurodevelopmental disorders. The stakeholders most frequently asked to identify research priorities were doctors, patients, academics/researchers, nurses, allied healthcare professionals, family members, friends, and carers. Overall, half of all projects explicitly mentioned that involving stakeholders is important. Around one quarter of all projects also actively involved patients and the public. In around one quarter of all projects, stakeholders deliberated on their priorities for research throughout the entire process. As researchers are still skeptical towards the benefits of involving stakeholders in research priority setting, future research on this matter is greatly needed