Appendix D: Elite Interview Design Guide

Protocol:

Participant recruits will be contacted via email with an invitation to participate in the ‘elite interview’ study. The initial email will provide an overview of the project and include details such as the project’s aims and goals, the time commitment for the participant (approx. 30 minutes to one hour) and an assurance of anonymity. If the recruit is open to participate, they will then be sent the Participant Information Sheet and relevant consent forms, along with potential dates for the interview. The signed consent form must be returned before the interview takes place. All contacts, responses and progress will be recorded on the Participant Contact document on the ‘tracker’ tab. Once the interview date has been selected and confirmed, a Zoom calendar invitation will be sent via email. A reminder for the interview, along with the meeting details, will be sent approximately one week before the agreed date. All interviews will be recorded via Zoom (securely stored on the University of York cloud system) and transcribed and analysed using NVIVO software.

Script:

Introduction (5 mins):

• interviewer introduction (name, role in project)
• review of project overview and aims:
• this project will address the role of evidence in policy/practice related to sustainable and healthy diets, focusing specifically on how evidence is communicated by researchers to policymakers and practitioners, and used by them. Your participation is voluntary and you have the opportunity to withdraw from the study at any point up until 10 November 2021. More information about how to do this and what will happen with your information is provided on the Participant Information Sheet.
• confirmation of consent and anonymity
• announcement of recording start

Questions (30-40mins):

• where do you/the stakeholder group you represent get evidence from?
• which organisations?
• which mechanisms/formats? (prompt: policy briefs; reports; webinars; newsletters; events; professional networks; peers; social media)
• what are the current guidelines for evidence communication and adoption for you/ the stakeholder group you represent?
• what are your needs for evidence in your experience? To what extent does current evidence meet those needs?
• would you discuss a recent example of a time that:

○     you needed evidence?
○     you needed to use or implement evidence?

• how do you prefer evidence to be communicated to you? (prompt: format/ style/ framing/ length i.e. medium [policy briefs; reports; webinars; newsletters; events; professional networks; peers; social media]; format [narrative; statistics; figures and tables; infographics; images; video])
• do you prefer evidence to be presented with or without specific recommendations for action? (prompt: one course of action or multiple options for action?)
• what do you need to know about a piece of evidence when you’re judging its usefulness for you? (prompt: include details on effectiveness; evidence quality; financial costs; potential harms or stakeholder impacts; contextual applicability; comparison with other cities/countries; perceived credibility [for example, quant versus qual]). 
• what makes it difficult for you to access, absorb and implement evidence? (prompt: format; timeliness; lack of guidance/training on how to understand evidence; credibility; political/ industry/ public acceptability; money)
• how do you believe these difficulties for evidence could be addressed?
• what makes it easy for you to use and implement evidence? (prompt: timeliness of evidence; political/ industry/ public acceptability; access; credibility; money)
• if evidence generators could do one thing better for you, what would it be? (prompt: accessibility, format, length)
• what role does research evidence have in UK food policy/food advocacy/food industry practice/food practitioners?
• do you have any further comments on the topic of evidence communication and implementation on sustainable and healthy diets?

Wrap-up:

Thank you for your time and participation with this interview. We aim to complete this project by 26 November 2021 and to disseminate our findings shortly after. We are happy to share these with you directly if you’re interested!