Purpose: To provide a process for describing and further assessing propositions, which are “proposals on best practice that have a solid evidence base but remain contested.” Description: The development of propositions has two phases: an initial phase, where “a small group of researchers and practitioners define a set of evidence-based insights and counterview for a […]

Purpose: To help with finding and using research evidence. The focus is on health policy making and these tools are aimed at those responsible for making decisions about health policies and programs (eg., elected officials, civil servants), those who support these decision makers (eg., policy analysts, political staffers, independent advisers) and health system stakeholders (eg., […]

GRADE stands for ‘Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation’. It was developed for health systems interventions. The GRADE approach separates two issues: “the quality of the evidence and the strength of recommendations. Quality of evidence is only one of several factors considered when assessing the strength of recommendations.” The intention of the GRADE approach […]

Purpose: To describe common problems that can occur with grading systems which may negate their usefulness in justifying evidence-based changes in policy and practice. Description: In order to summarise the state of research on particular topics, the quality and robustness of scientific results is often assessed using one of a number of so-called grading instruments […]

Purpose: To systematically solicit and collate expert judgments on a particular topic, which also provides a structured way for the experts to build on each other’s ideas. Description: Each expert is asked for their judgment on a topic using a questionnaire or interview; this does not require the experts to meet. The responses are collated and summarised and returned to the experts before proceeding with a second round of questions about the topic, often leading to voting on a particular question...