How to join the research program

The **Research Program** page is where your agency joins the eCourtDate research program, keeps its goals and contact details current, and leaves or rejoins. Joining takes effect right away and costs your agency nothing.

### Overview

The page sits on the **Research** tab of **Agency Setup**. The **Your Enrollment** card shows your agency's status and the form for your research goals, your contact, and comments. The **About the Program** card explains how the program works and links to more detail.

- **What it does:** Enrolls your agency in the research program, records your goals and who to contact, and tells the eCourtDate research team about every change
- **Why it matters:** Benchmarking against comparable jurisdictions starts with the research team knowing what your agency wants to compare and who to talk to
- **Who it is for:** Anyone at your agency can see the enrollment. Joining, editing, and leaving need the Update Settings permission
- **Expected outcome:** A status of **Enrolled**, and a research partner in touch with the contact you named

### Prerequisites

Before you start, make sure you have:

- A signed-in eCourtDate account with your agency selected
- The **Update Settings** permission on your role, which joining, editing, and leaving require
- The **Research** tab visible in the **Agency Setup** tab strip, since a role can hide it under **Hidden Navigations**
- The name and email address of the person the research team should contact

### How-To Steps

#### Join the program

1. Click **Agency Setup** in the footer of any page in eCourtDate.
2. Click **Research** in the tab strip.
3. Check the **Status** in the **Your Enrollment** card, which reads **Not enrolled** until your agency joins.
4. Select the checkboxes under **What are your research goals?** that match your plans.
5. Enter the contact's **Name** and **Email**. They start filled in with your own name and email, so change them if someone else should hear from the research team.
6. Enter a **Phone** number if the contact prefers a call.
7. Enter anything else the research team should know in **Comments**.
8. Click **Join the Program**.

#### Update your goals or contact

1. Open the **Research** tab of **Agency Setup**.
2. Change the goals, contact details, or **Comments**.
3. Click **Save Changes**. The button stays greyed out until something on the form changes.

#### Leave the program

1. Open the **Research** tab of **Agency Setup**.
2. Click **Leave the Program** under **Leave the program**.
3. Enter the reason your agency is leaving in **Why is your agency leaving?** if you want to tell the research team. The reason is optional.
4. Click **Leave the Program** in the dialog. Click **Stay Enrolled** instead to close the dialog without leaving.

#### Rejoin the program

1. Open the **Research** tab of **Agency Setup**.
2. Review the goals and contact details, which keep what your agency entered before it left.
3. Click **Rejoin the Program**.

### What to Expect

Joining takes effect the moment you click **Join the Program**. The confirmation "Your agency joined the research program." appears, the **Status** changes to **Enrolled**, and the card shows when your agency enrolled and who enrolled it. There is no approval step.

Every change you make, whether joining, saving new details, leaving, or rejoining, is emailed to the eCourtDate research team at research@ecourtdate.com with your agency name, who made the change, and what changed. One of the research partners then contacts the person you named to discuss your goals.

After your agency leaves, the **Status** reads **Left the program** and the card shows when it left, who made the change, and the reason if one was given. Your goals and contact details stay on the form so rejoining takes one click.

### Best Practices

- **Name the right contact.** The research team writes to the **Name** and **Email** on the form, not to whoever clicked **Join the Program**.
- **Check every goal that applies.** The goals tell the research team what your agency wants to compare.
- **Spell out your metrics in Comments.** Mention what you want compared, for example appearance rates, message delivery, or payment collection.
- **Keep the contact current.** When the person responsible changes roles, update the contact and click **Save Changes** so the research team hears about it.
- **Give a reason when you leave.** It helps the research team improve the program, and it is optional.

### Frequently Asked Questions

**Q: Does joining the research program cost anything?**

A: No. The program is free for your agency.

**Q: Does someone have to approve our enrollment?**

A: No. Your agency is enrolled as soon as you click **Join the Program**, and the research team is told right away.

**Q: Can we leave the program?**

A: Yes. Click **Leave the Program** on the **Research** tab at any time. Your agency can rejoin later from the same page.

**Q: Who is told when we change something?**

A: The eCourtDate research team, at research@ecourtdate.com. They receive an email for every join, edit, leave, and rejoin.

**Q: Why can I see our enrollment but not change it?**

A: Joining, editing, and leaving need the **Update Settings** permission. The page says so and keeps the form read-only. Ask an administrator to add the permission to your role.

**Q: We asked to join before this page changed. Are we enrolled?**

A: Yes. A request made on the old form counts as joined. Open the **Research** tab to check your goals and add a contact.

### Troubleshooting

**Issue:** The form is greyed out and there is no **Join the Program** button.

**Symptoms:** The page reads "Only users who can update settings can change your agency's enrollment. Ask an administrator."

**Solution:** Ask an administrator to add the **Update Settings** permission to your role on the **Roles** tab.

**Issue:** **Join the Program** does not enroll your agency.

**Symptoms:** A message under **Name** or **Email** asks who the research team should contact, or asks for an email address like name@agency.gov.

**Solution:** Enter a contact name and a complete email address, then click **Join the Program** again.

**Issue:** The page says your agency's research program enrollment could not be loaded.

**Symptoms:** A **Try again** button appears in place of the form.

**Solution:** Click **Try again**. If the message stays, open the **Help** menu and select **New support ticket**.

**Issue:** The **Research** tab does not appear in **Agency Setup**.

**Symptoms:** The tab strip shows tabs such as **Setup**, **Billing**, and **Training**, but not **Research**.

**Solution:** Ask an administrator to open your role, check the **Hidden Navigations** field, and remove research from that list.

### Related Articles

- [How to complete your agency setup checklist](/how-to-complete-your-agency-setup-checklist)
- [How to earn credits through referrals](/how-to-earn-credits-through-referrals)
- [How to review your agency performance score](/how-to-review-your-agency-performance-score)
- [Roles and Permissions](/roles-and-permissions)