This toolkit was developed by the TGHN team to serve as a practical guide to support the creation of a research club.

It is designed to guide teachers, students, or healthcare professionals interested in organizing a discussion forum to foster and strengthen scientific or technological research.

Step 1:
Register on TGHN

Step 2:
Prepare the proposal for creating the new club

Step 3:
Obtain Institutional Authorization

Step 4:
Promote the Club

Step 5:
Prepare the Club Meetings

Step 6:
Monitoring and Feedback for Continuous Improvement

 
YOUR CLUB!

Step 1: Register on TGHN

To create a research club, you must be registered on the TGHN platform for your region.

If you are not yet registered, you can do so for free via the corresponding link:

Registering is very easy, but if you have any questions, you can consult a brief tutorial here.

Step 2: Prepare the proposal for creating the new club

Planning is crucial for creating a research club, as it ensures clarity regarding the audience, objectives, resources, and alignment with your institution's goals, facilitating its approval and implementation. Therefore, we provide a standard template that will help you define all the necessary elements to prepare the proposal for creating the research club.

We suggest that before completing the template, you carefully read the following comments:

  • Standard Definition of Research Club: You can customize the pre-configured definition.
  • Audience: You must define the audience, according to the objective, area of ​​interest, or scope of the Club.
  • Objective: You can update the objective, according to the area of ​​interest or scope of the Club.
  • Club Name: We suggest that you assign a name to the club.

Tips for Defining the Club Name:

  • Look for a name that is easy to remember, short, and easy to pronounce.
  • Use keywords that are related to the audience, objective, or specific area.
  • Avoid using terms that may be offensive to racial groups, cultures, or countries.

Designate Coordinators: You must complete the information for the person(s) who will be responsible for coordinating the club's activities.

Determine the operating modality and frequency of meetings: You can determine the modality based on the scope or area and the frequency of the meetings or gatherings according to the availability of resources and time.


Tips for defining the Club's operating modality

  • For clubs with an exclusively institutional scope, in-person meetings are suggested.
  • For clubs with a multi-center, provincial, national, or regional scope, online or hybrid meetings are suggested, depending on the resources available

Example

  • Modality: online meetings, due to its regional scope.

  • Frequency: monthly.

Prepare the Calendar and Agenda: It is suggested that you initially prepare a 3-month calendar as a pilot test.

Tips for completing the Club's meeting calendar

  • Establish the duration of the meetings: do not exceed 2 hours.
  • Schedule the meetings for a day of the week, according to the availability of resources and the audience. For example, the first Monday of each month.
  • Set the meeting schedule: based on resource and audience availability.
  • Update the schedule quarterly based on emerging needs from the meetings, and this can be agreed upon with the participants.

Tips for completing the Club's meeting schedule:

  • Select the discussion topic for each meeting: we've shared sample topics for the pilot test
  • Choose a moderator for each meeting. For the first few meetings, we suggest the coordinator act as moderator.
  • Determine the Resources: You will need to determine the necessary resources, depending on the format and frequency of the meetings.

 

Tips for defining the minimum resources for the Club's operation:

  • In-person format: reserve a room and audiovisual equipment, always confirm the complete address where the meetings will be held, and send meeting reminders
  • Online format: establish the platform for virtual meetings (e.g., Zoom, Google Meet) and send meeting reminders.

Step 3: Obtain Institutional Authorization

With the proposal for creating the Club prepared, it is suggested that you meet with the authorities of the institution from which you intend to coordinate the Club, to obtain the necessary authorization. This can be verbal or written, according to the requirements of each institution.

Step 4: Promote the Club

Making the club known is a very important step.

It is suggested that you initially use your own network of contacts to send personalized invitations to potential future participants.

Additionally, it is suggested that you use all available communication channels (internal and external), such as posters, groups, social media, email invitations, etc. To learn how to promote the club's activities, please contact the representative for your region:

Step 5: Prepare the Club Meetings

Before the Meetings

Confirm the address for the meeting, whether in person or online (in this case, the address is the link to the platform that will be used for the videoconference).

  • Prepare the agenda for each meeting and supporting materials to guide the activity, when necessary.
  • Remember to confirm the availability of the moderators and/or facilitators.

It is advisable to intensify the promotion of the activity with a personalized approach, through individual invitations sent by email or WhatsApp, and send reminders 48 or 24 hours before each meeting.

It is suggested to use the available communication channels in the 15 days prior to the meeting for the mass promotion of the Research Club.

Finally, it is suggested to create a WhatsApp group for the Club, in order to facilitate and centralize communication among future participants.

Facilitating the Meeting

The person in charge of the meeting can be the coordinator, the moderator, or another assigned individual. It is recommended that this person arrive a few minutes before the meeting begins (between 10 and 15 minutes) to ensure that the room is ready, whether it's the physical space or the online platform.

If the moderator deems it necessary, they can ask the coordinator or one of the participants to help by taking notes and completing the attendance list.

Tips for Facilitating the Meeting:

  • Start the meeting on time.
  • Begin the meeting with the moderator's introduction.
  • Continue with the established agenda.
  • Facilitate open discussion among the participants.
  • Take notes during the discussion to prepare the minutes.
  • Complete the attendance list.
  • Respect the meeting's closing time.
  • Immediate Post-Meeting Follow-Up:
  • Gather the notes and the participant list to prepare the minutes, allowing for organized information from each meeting.

It is recommended to circulate the minutes among the participants, either by email, shared drive or WhatsApp group, so that everyone can analyze the recorded information and prepare and/or improve future meetings.

Step 6: Monitoring and Feedback for Continuous Improvement

Monitoring meetings is essential to understanding the activities carried out by the Club. For this purpose, TGHN provides several online forms that the club coordinator can use.

Activity Registration Form:

Satisfaction Survey:

Feedback is essential for the continuous improvement of operations and for raising the profile of the Research Club and its members within the scientific and academic community.