Reinventing the evaluation wheel: COGwheel's co-designed digital innovation using the Qualtrics heat map

The involvement of service-users, clinicians, and other health service end-users is recognised as an essential part of health and medical research. This collaborative approach can significantly contribute to methodological advancements including the development of research instruments and measures that ensure their suitability for research participants. The current paper details the co-design, development and implementation of the novel, digitised COGwheel (Co-designed Outcomes for Guests Evaluation Wheel). COGwheel is a brief, user-friendly digital instrument based on the Evaluation Wheel. It uses Qualtrics' heatmap function to maximise ease of use for participants, alongside secure data collection, ease of analysis and simple interpretation. COGwheel was developed to evaluate peer-led, non-clinical 'safe spaces' for people experiencing emotional distress and/or suicidal crisis. However, the model has broader potential to be applied to other types of measures where it is essential to prioritise participant accessibility, comprehension, and ease of use. •COGwheel is a brief, user-friendly digital instrument based on the Evaluation Wheel (Evaluation Support Scotland), that was co-designed by people with lived experience of suicidal crisis or distress.•COGwheel addresses a significant gap in current evaluation methods, providing a novel digital instrument that also enhances accessibility and relevance for both participants and researchers.•Utilising Qualtrics' heatmap function, COGwheel enhances meaningful participant engagement and streamlines data collection, ensuring data security, interpretability, and efficient analysis.