Objectives:

To provide an open forum to present and discuss developments occurring as part of the new ‘Cochrane Response’ initiative led by Cochrane Innovations.

Description:

Decision making at the national and local level requires speed and contextualisation. Cochrane Review methods are by design exhaustive, with the highest potential to be generalisable and replicable, but sometimes the Cochrane model of investigator-initiated systematic reviews do not respond to decision makers’ needs in terms of time and specificity. The gap between Cochrane Reviews and national and local decision makers’ needs represents a potential quagmire of time and specificity: on the one hand, there is a tremendous market for quickly completed reviews that are designed to be sensitive to the local context; on the other hand, the Cochrane standard cannot be compromised by limiting the universe of evidence because of available time or geopolitical concerns. This leaves a broad middle ground, the vacuum of which is filled by makeshift strategies and commercial enterprises whose results are non-replicable. Cochrane Response, an initiative of the Collaboration, is exploring potential means for meeting these needs, and will present progress to date. This session seeks the input and critique from all Cochrane users and contributors.