In principle Agenda does sync in the background on iPad/iOS but this depends a bit on what the system allows. Re: keeping Agenda alive is not something we’re too keen on as it can cause quite a bit of battery drain if timing isn’r right.
Perhaps some option like the webpages with recipes that have ‘cooking mode’ so the iPad doesn’t sleep while you’re cooking? Perhaps tap and hold the mountain icon could bring up the option?
Obviously the alternative is to turn off sleep in iOS Settings, but something more accessible would be useful.