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The purpose of this paper is to report how an evaluation tool originally developed for Age-Friendly Cities was pilot-tested in the context of the Dementia Friendly Community (DFC) initiative of the city of Sheffield/UK. It presents finding and outputs on which other communities with dementia friendly agendas can draw.

The original evaluation tool was adapted to a focus on dementia friendliness. Data collection involved scoping conversations, documentary analysis, interviews and group discussions. Following evidence appraisal, Sheffield’s approach to dementia friendliness was assessed. A local steering group was central to the study.

The evidence indicates areas of strength in Sheffield’s approach to dementia friendliness: involvement of older people; service provision; collaboration; monitoring and evaluation. Scope for improvement was identified around resource allocation, and use of existing guidance on dementia friendliness. Recommendations for policy and practice include enhancing pooling of resources, more detailed recording of resources allocated to dementia-related activity, and collection of evidence on how people affected by dementia have shaped the city’s DFC initiative. Key research outputs are an adaptable logic model and an emerging evaluation framework for DFCs.

The study was a short pilot with limited resources. Its findings and outputs must be considered preliminary.

The findings and outputs provide a basis for further research. The study has suggested key components of an evaluation framework for DFCs. It is informing ongoing work to develop such a framework.

Including the views of service users, carers and clinical staff when prioritising health research can ensure future projects are meaningful and relevant to key stakeholders. One National Health Service Foundation Trust in England, UK undertook a project to identify the top 10 research priorities according to people with experience using or working in services for dementia and older adult mental health. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Service users with dementia and mental health difficulties; informal carers, family and friends of service users; clinical staff working in the Trust. Participants were surveyed for research ideas. Ideas were processed into research questions and checked for evidence. Participants were then asked to prioritise their personal top 10 from a long list of research questions. A shortlist of 26 topics was discussed in a consensus workshop with a sample of participants to decide on the final top 10 research priorities.

A total of 126 participants provided 418 research ideas, leading to 86 unique and unanswered research questions. In total, 58 participants completed interim prioritisation, 11 of whom were invited to the consensus workshop involving service users, carers and clinical staff. The final top 10 priorities were dominated by topics surrounding care, psychosocial support and mental health in dementia.

Future research from the Trust and collaborating organisations can use these results to develop relevant projects and applications for funding.

This project has demonstrated the possibility of including key stakeholders in older adult mental health research priority setting at the local level.