Experience of collaborative research practice in forensic mental health

The aim of the paper is to share the experience of multi‐national, funded research practice and to explore some of the issues related to conducting such studies in forensic practice. The BEST Index is a normative forensic risk assessment instrument that can be implemented through the different levels of security. It benefits the patient as it is a structured assessment instrument for assessing, planning, implementing and evaluating care in the context of risk assessment. A large‐scale, five‐country EU‐funded study was conducted to validate the instrument and to develop educational tools. Some published description of research experience exists but does not cover the issues for people new to high‐level research studies or the partnership working that is required to make multi‐national, multi‐lingual studies work to the benefit of the patient. Many issues arose during the study and those considered important to deal with, and the actions taken, are described, including ethical issues, management and organisational issues, and ‘the long haul’. Being new to research and coming straight in to this kind of large‐scale clinical research requires preparation and thought.