Backgrounder
The Government of Canada, through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, is providing $1M to support a COVID-19 knowledge synthesis network to support decision and policy making in the response to the rapidly evolving COVID-19 pandemic.
Led by Dr. John Lavis from McMaster University, the COVID-19 Evidence Network will:
- rapidly prepare and update evidence syntheses to support Canadian decision and policy makers;
- maintain a publically available inventory of the best evidence syntheses for COVID-19 decisions to ensure that Canadian decision-makers have the most updated science available when needed;
- monitor emerging issues where evidence syntheses may be needed in the future; and
- work with Canadian and global partners to reduce duplication and enhance coordination in the evidence response to COVID-19.
Dr. Lavis's co-leads for the Network include Jeremy Grimshaw from the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Andrea Tricco of the SPOR Evidence Alliance which is based at St. Michael's Hospital of Unity Health Toronto, and Nancy Santesso of Cochrane Canada, based at McMaster University."
The Network brings together more than 25 Canadian evidence-synthesis teams and leaders of key Canadian initiatives, governments and health authorities. Together the Network team and its partners will disseminate and support the use of its work both directly and through many existing initiatives.
