Building a volunteer network through Cochrane Engage

Knowledge translation (KT) is a key part of ensuring that high-quality evidence reaches the people who can use it. In Italy, however, research methods and evidence-based medicine (EBM) are not consistently integrated into higher education or medical education programmes. This educational gap may limit opportunities for healthcare professionals and students to develop practical skills in evidence synthesis and appraisal. One of Cochrane Italy's goals for 2024 was to increase awareness of Cochrane and its evidence among healthcare professionals and the public through KT activities, but there wasn't a reliable pipeline of content to support a consistent growth in their communication channels. At the same time, the group wanted to help close the educational gap by offering students reliable training in EBM methodology. They identified a solution to address both problems at once: recruit volunteers who wanted to learn EBM in exchange for contributing to Cochrane Italy's communication and KT goals. How Cochrane Engage helped Cochrane Italy posted a task on Cochrane Engage to recruit volunteers for KT work: translating and creating blogshots (visual review summaries), developing visual abstracts, writing website articles, and proposing other collaboration ideas. Coordination now runs through a monthly shared spreadsheet (Google Sheet) where volunteers sign up for tasks, alongside project updates and relevant webinars or opportunities from across the network. Beginning with five, there are now almost 20 active volunteers, some still from that original first cohort. Volunteers have produced Italian-language blogshots for 50+ recent reviews and four visual abstracts, contributed to new EBM resources and articles (some in collaboration with other Cochrane centres), and helped put together a short YouTube series on volunteering with Cochrane Italy. A consistent communication strategy, filled with high-quality content, took the Cochrane Italy LinkedIn page to nearly 4,000 followers after its launch in May 2024. Why it worked Regular communication kept volunteers engaged with the project and the wider Cochrane community. Reviews to turn into blogshots were mostly chosen according to the interests of the volunteers, and the team stay flexible about what volunteers could work on. Ideas and projects proposed by volunteers are always welcome, and when they don’t fit Cochrane Italy's aim, they are directed to other Cochrane groups. Recognition matters as well - as well as gaining points points towards membership, volunteers also get social media mentions, a dedicated volunteer page on the website, and certificates on request. "Cochrane Engage is a great platform connecting people with the right opportunities. For us, it was the launchpad for a volunteer network of more than 20 people." - Claudia De Santis, Cochrane Italy Impact Cochrane Engage provided the first cohort of volunteers, which allowed the team to experiment, learn together, and gradually build a more stable and consistent model of collaboration. Beyond the volunteer programme itself, Cochrane Italy is now regularly contacted by healthcare professionals interested in training and expanding their methodological skills in evidence synthesis, considering the group a point of reference for training, not just a source of content. The project has helped create a network of people in Italy country interested in evidence-based healthcare, evidence synthesis methodology, and the Cochrane community. See how Cochrane Engage can help with your next project