6. The Participant Agreement and the Data Sharing Consent
Content
This article touches on all things related to the Participant Agreement, and the Data Sharing Consent. The following topics are discussed:
Contracts, Informed consent, and the Infographic
The Participant Agreement
Collecting the Participant Agreement on paper
Collecting the Participant Agreement Digitally
The Data Sharing Consent
Collecting the Data Sharing Consent on paper
Collecting the Data Sharing Consent Digitally
Contracts, Informed consent, and the Infographic
If a farmer wishes to join Acorn, there are different legal documents that must be signed. Before you can gather further data in the app, the app will require you to collect the Data Sharing Consent. The farmer also signs the participant agreement which goes into the requirements and obligations relating to the program.
As a data collector, it is your job to properly explain the contracts and their content. This ensures informed consent. This entails that the farmer knows what he is signing and agrees to it. Especially in regions where literacy is low, data collectors must be able to explain the concepts using the infographic. The infographic explains the participant agreement with visuals and short explanations.
The Participant Agreement (PA)
The participant agreement contains the obligations between the local partner, the farmer and Acorn.
For the farmer this discusses the requirements for joining the program, and the do's and don'ts once onboarded. This includes "no excessive pruning" and no deforestation.
Regarding the local partner this goes into pay-outs and how the farmer may receive seedlings.
The procedure of gathering the PA
When is comes to the PA, the farmer and the local partner must always have a copy. The farmer must always have a physical copy, which means that, as a data collector, you always have at least one copy per farmer with you.
When it comes to the copy for the local partner, there are two ways of gathering the PA in the app. This can be done on paper or digitally. See the following section relating to collecting the PA in the app.
Collecting the Participant Agreement on paper
To collect the participant agreement on paper, take the following steps:
Click on the "Participant Agreement" button
Select the option "On paper"
Give on copy to the farmer
Take one copy back the your local partner
Collecting the Participant Agreement Digitally
To collect the participant agreement digitally, take the following steps:
Click on the "Participant Agreement" button
Select the option "On paper with photo"
Take six clear pictures and upload these in the app
Leave on copy for the farmer
The Data Sharing Consent
The Data Sharing Consent goes into the data that the app, and Acorn, collects. It explains what the data is being used for and who has access to the data.
Similarly to the PA, it can be collected in two ways: digitally or on paper.
Collecting the Data Sharing Consent on paper
If the Data Sharing Consent is collected on paper, it is usually part of the larger Participant Agreement.
To collect the Data Sharing Consent on paper:
Click on the "Data Sharing Consent" button
Select the option "On paper with photo"
Follow the procedure as explained in the app
Confirm that you have followed the procedure
Confirm that you the paper consent is collected
Explain how the farmer can withdraw from the program
Confirm you have explained this
Done!
Collecting the Data Sharing Consent Digitally
To collect the data sharing consent digitally:
Click on the "Data Sharing Consent" button
Select the option "Digitally"
Go through the different data, and explain how this is used by Acorn
Go to the necessary fields with the farmer and select the options that apply
The farmer can add their data of birth signature
Confirm you have followed this procedure
Done!
