We need your help redrawing the map for how mentees and mentors make specific plans for their working relationships, optimize a shared vision for success, and keep goals fluid and responsive to career development.

The mentoring literature has become voluminous. Laying hands on examples of mentoring agreements that work proves more difficult. The Edge team aims to compile and share back great examples, as well as aggregate discussion of aspects which may be problematic and are best omitted.

The Ask:

Send examples of the good, the bad, and the ugly plans to info@edgeforscholars.org or message us @edgeforscholars on Twitter or Facebook.

As desired, and as your level of passion dictates, please annotate the document or elaborate in your message on:

• Features you appreciate and why (with links to literature if you really want to drive your point home).
• Whether you or a group of individuals would like to be cited as the authors of the sample agreement.
• If your comments about agreements or elements in them can be directly shared or if you wish anonymity.
• Items you feel are essential and cannot be neglected.
• Items you feel are most egregious and should never be included.
• Elements of style, tone, or format of document that contribute to your impressions.
• Notes as needed about how universal you consider items across the arc of training which are specific to doctoral, post-doctoral, early career, and later mentees.

Rules of Engagement:

We will brag for you or protect your identity or both as instructed.

• All levels and forms of trainees, scholars, mentees, mentors, coaches, advocates, and sponsors are encouraged to contribute.
• All disciplines are welcome across the translational spectrum of biomedical research and pedagogy/mentorship, broadly defined.
• Please provide source and authorship if you can (and link to sample agreements if publicly available). If not, let us know that you don’t know the provenance of the document.
• You may message us from social media accounts or anonymized email accounts. If you chose this route let us know whether we may retain the screen name or should omit.
• As we compile input we will be using examples to fuel a Delphi Process to inform creation of a new MMAP.
• That MMAP and related documents will be available for comment in a blog post including crucial input provided through this request.
• If you provide input and your materials or comments are featured in the blog post or draft of new MMAP, we will provide you with a draft of the blog post in advance.
• You will have three weeks to respond with requested edits or additions to the blog before it is posted at EdgeforScholars.org.

To be included we need your examples and input by May 1, 2019. If you would like to be part of the next steps in the form of virtual focus groups or in the formal Delphi Panel process, please let us know by March 15, 2019. Send us an email that includes your name, mentee or mentor status, research domain, institution and a few sentences about why this matters to you. We’ll be hosting the first group activities in the summer.

Thanks for contributing to crowdsourcing the best tools for mentors and mentees.

References About Mentoring Agreements:

The Key to a Happy Lab Life Is in the Manual – Mariam Aly. Nature

Ten Simple Rules for Developing a Mentor-Mentee Expectations Document – Kristyn S. MAsters and Pamela K. Kreeger. PLoS Comput Biol

Early Career Mentoring for Translational Researchers: Mentee Perspectives on Challenges and Issues – Thomas E Keller, Peter J. Collier, Jennifer E. Blakeslee, et al. Teach Learn Med.

Best Practices and Pearls in Interdisciplinary Mentoring from Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Health Directors – Jeanne-Marie Guise, Joan D. Nagel, and Judith G. Regensteiner. J Womens Health (Larchmt)

Understanding Career Success and Its Contributing Factors for Clinical and Translational Investigators – Georgeanna F.W.B. Robinson, Lisa S. Schawrts, Linda A. DiMeglio, et al. Academic Medicine

Career Development of Young Physician-Scientists in the Cardiovascular Sciences – Sachin Agarwal, Edda Spiekerkotter, Eric D. Austin, et al. Circulation Res.

Mentoring Best Practices: Communication and Mentoring Best Practices Challenges – UIC Center for Clinical and Translational Science

Mentoring Checklist – UCSF Mentor Development Program

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