Researchers have described collaborative online methods for building a logic model together with Creative Minds staff and community partners, in a study published in Health Research Policy and Systems. The work focused on Creative Minds, a charity based within an NHS mental health trust that supports service users through community-based creative and sporting activities designed to be suitable and welcoming. Logic models are widely used tools for evaluating complex interventions, typically mapping the resources a programme needs, the activities it delivers and the changes it is hoped to bring about, yet the authors note that methods for developing them collaboratively with key stakeholders are rarely reported in detail.
The researchers began with an initial draft logic model and refined it iteratively through real-time collaborative editing during the meetings. Stakeholders could see the model change on screen as they discussed it, making live amendments that expanded and reshaped the draft as the conversations progressed.
Additional feedback was gathered via a conference poster, and after each stage the researchers reviewed and synthesised the inputs received. According to the study’s results, stakeholders engaged readily with this process, adding new ideas and clarifying how different components of the model fit together. Some suggestions were straightforward, while others were more complicated, and capturing the mechanisms behind the programme and the linkages between its parts proved challenging. Managing differing stakeholder perspectives was another difficulty, although the group processes allowed these disagreements to be explored and resolved.
The outcome is a detailed, co-produced logic model representing the Creative Minds approach, which the authors describe as ready for field testing in real-world settings. Because it was built with the staff and partners involved in delivery, the model reflects their collective understanding of how the programme is intended to work, from the resources invested to the activities offered and the outcomes anticipated for mental health service users taking part in community activities.
The authors argue that their collaborative online approach enabled meaningful stakeholder involvement in developing a logic model for a complex intervention, contributing to a broader effort to expand methodologies for co-producing such models and for evaluating social prescribing interventions. They also acknowledge that further research is needed to refine methods for capturing causal mechanisms during logic model co-production, one of the key difficulties encountered. The co-produced model is intended to support the implementation and evaluation of creative approaches within NHS mental health services, providing a visual plan that can be tested against how Creative Minds actually runs in practice. The article was published open access on 29 October 2026 as peer-reviewed, accepted research.
Subject of Research: Collaborative online methods for co-producing a social prescribing logic model with NHS stakeholders
Article Title: Collaborative methods to co-produce a social prescribing logic model
Article References: Taylor Buck, E., Bishop-Edwards, L., Stockdale, J., & Booth, A. (2026). Collaborative methods to co-produce a social prescribing logic model. Health Research Policy and Systems. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12961-026-01546-6
Image Credits: AI Generated
DOI: 10.1186/s12961-026-01546-6
Keywords: social prescribing, logic model, co-production, Creative Minds, NHS mental health, complex interventions, stakeholder engagement, consensus meetings, community activities, evaluation methods, Collaborative, methods
News Source: Ophelia Keating. (October 29, 2026). Researchers co-produce social prescribing logic model with charity staff and community partners online. Scienmag.
