PICO Terminology

The PICO model overloads many common terms, giving them different meanings from ordinary English usage. This page is intended to clarify (though not fully explain) the meanings of words used by PICO organizations and highlight different ideas.

Action:: a large community meeting where the community rallies together to win a commitment from one or more public officials on an issue of great importance. Like all meetings, it is a chance for leaders and the officials themselves to build relationships within the community.
Evaluation:: after every activity, leaders reflect on their work. Reflection helps to clarify what happened and share mental notes.
Leader:: anyone who has followers. Leaders are the artisans of change. Leaders are usually highly relational people.
One-to-Ones:: face-to-face conversations between leaders and community members to build relationships, listen to concerns, and invite participation.
Research:: a meeting with public officials and other experts to ask questions and gather information about an issue. This notion does incorporate reading and study, but these things are not the main focus.