Evidence Synthesis Programme Advisory Group Meeting
Tuesday 2 June 2020
Attendees:
Dr Phil Alderson, NICE representative
Professor Andrew Booth, Academic Advisor
Professor Martin Burton, Cochrane UK
Professor Rachel Churchill, CRG Representative
Mr Jonathan Kilworth, Social Care Representative
Professor Jo Lord, Academic Advisor
Professor John Powell, Programme Deputy Director
Dr Vivian Welch, Campbell Collaboration
Professor Olivia Wu, Complex Reviews Support Unit
Observers:
Mr Michael Bowdery, Welsh Assembly Government
Dr Neil Hawkins, Complex Reviews Support Unit
Dr Gail Johnston, Health & Social Care R&D Division Northern Ireland
Dr Kay Pattison, Department of Health and Social Care
Dr Julie Simpson, Scottish Government Health Directorates
Mr Malcolm Turner, Public Representative
Mr Mark Wilson, Cochrane Chief Executive Officer
Mrs Christine Holmes, Department of Health and Social Care
Secretariat:
Dr Martin Ashton-Key, (Chair – in absence of Professor Ken Stein), Scientific Director, NETSCC
Ms Sally Bailey, NETSCC & TARs representative
Mr Rob Squire, NETSCC
Mrs Sarah Harwin, NETSCC
Dr Sofia Araujo-Betancor, NETSCC
Apologies:
Professor Ken Stein, Programme Director
Dr Matt Ridd, NHS Representative
1a) Welcome and introductions
MAK welcomed everyone to the meeting and the Group introduced themselves.
Apologies were noted as detailed above.
1b) Membership update
MAK welcomed John Powell and Malcolm Turner who begin their tenures on ESPAG.
The Group were also reminded that Helen Bulbeck and Tara Lamont’s tenures ended in December 2019.
1c) Minutes of 5 December 2019 meeting (paper 01-20)
The minutes of the previous meeting were agreed and accepted as an accurate record.
2a) Cochrane Review Group annual report summary 2019/20 (paper 02-20)
SAB introduced this item. Key points highlighted from the report summary included:
- Training given and received remains at a high level.
- Collaboration and engagement are embedded within prioritisation and dissemination, with consistency across processes being the main driver.
- Across all CRGs, online dissemination is now the primary method of promoting reviews.
- The median time from protocol to review publication has increased by about seven months compared to last year.
- For the most part, groups have successfully achieved all objectives set for the fifth and final year of their contract. Remaining objectives are either ongoing or no longer deemed necessary.
- Impact of Cochrane Reviews – the key message is that the reviews continue to have an important role in guidance and guidelines – both nationally and internationally.
Overall, the Group was pleased with the work of the CRGs in 2019.
The Group discussed the increase in the time between protocol and publication. It was noted that the CRGs have been asked to focus on more complex reviews and this may influence the duration of completing a review.
3a) Evidence Synthesis Programme Grants
SH provided the Group with an update on the ESP’s plans for the next Programme Grants call.
The new call is due to be advertised on 15 June 2020 and it will be open for four months. The call will close in October 2020 and a funding committee will be held in January 2021.
There is also a possibility that this call will be linked with a non-urgent COVID-19 call. The timeframe for this call will be much shorter and so it is likely that the ESP will signpost researchers to this call through the Programme Grant advert. This call is due to go live within the next week [Post-meeting update – the ‘COVID-19: Recovery and Learning’ call has now gone live and is initially open until the 23 June, with a second draw-down date of 14 July]. As with Programme Grants, applicants to this call will need to be linked to an England- based Cochrane Review Group (CRGs) or Campbell Collaboration Group (CCGs). The ESP will manage any successful projects from a monitoring perspective.
It was agreed the expected go-live date of 15 June for the Programme Grants call could be shared with the CRGs to assist with planning.
4a) NIHR Incentive Awards (paper 03-20)
SAB introduced this item. Incentive Awards will receive the same amount of funding as previous years (£100,000), with an expectation to fund a similar number of applications, between 10-20. Successful applications will receive between £5,000-£10,000 per award. The delivery of reviews will be 9-12 months from the start date and payment is made upon completion.
The call is due to open in mid-late July and the main difference from previous years is that a new rule around protocols needing to be published before the application is made, has been added. This will help to ensure that awards are completed on time.
4b) NIHR Incentive Awards Terms of Reference (paper 04-20)
SAB introduced this item and advised that the Terms of Reference had been updated with the new Programme name and new members.
The Group noted that Cochrane and Campbell representatives should have the same roles and be listed as non-scoring observers.
Providing that the change highlighted above is made, the Group were happy to sign-off the Terms of Reference and to review in two years, unless significant changes are made.
5a) Cochrane Reviews of NICE Priorities (CRNP) – Update on Year 2 and closing of the scheme (paper 05-20)
PA introduced this item. Eleven reviews have been commissioned through the CRNP scheme to date, and within the last week, three additional reviews have been approved by DHSC.
Feedback from NICE is that overall, the scheme has been productive, identifying reviews that are important to the NHS and ensuring they are delivered in a responsive fashion. The scheme has also continued to be received positively by the CRGs and author teams.
The Group recognised that the CRNP initiative provided good value for money and was well received by all stakeholders.
5b) Cochrane Reviews of NICE Priorities – Financial summary of Year 2 (paper 06-20)
RS summarised the finances for the CRNP scheme.
6a) Network Support Fellowship (NSF) – Update on Year 2 and closing the scheme
KSW introduced this item. All posts were filled for the majority of Year 2; however, two NSFs have now left their roles. Replacements for the vacant roles are currently being recruited.
The NSFs provided excellent support in the initial phase of the Networks. NSFs increased CRG engagement, supported the development of priorities and in some situations, the completion of high priority reviews.
The Group agreed that having clarity around roles and responsibilities for similar posts in the future was important.
6b) Network Support Fellowship – Financial summary of Year 2 (paper 07-20)
RS summarised the finances for the NSF scheme.
7a) Update from Cochrane UK (paper 08-20)
MBu provided an update on the activity of Cochrane UK for the last 12 months. The report is the last within their five-year contract (2015-2020), and demonstrated how Cochrane UK has evolved through this time.
The Group reacted positively to the new look of the report and agreed that a shorter document, with appendices was more accessible. Particular attention was paid to Appendix 3, which detailed Cochrane authors by England and the Devolved Administrations. It was requested that Cochrane UK list the DAs in their report as contributors, rather than just the NIHR. MBu confirmed that this information would be added in.
RC wanted to recognise that it has been a joy to help produce some of the work within this report with Cochrane UK and that they have greatly helped CRGs to disseminate their reviews.
8a) NIHR Complex Review Support Unit (CRSU) update (paper 09-20)
OW gave an update on the CRSU:
- The CRSU will provide support for the new round of Programme Grants at the start (first 9 months to a year). Support will then move over to the Cochrane Methods Support Unit (MSU) as previously agreed.
- Over the last six months, the CRSU has had to adapt the way they support review teams, using video calls and emails mainly. The main focus has been helping with 10 complex reviews. The levels of help requested from CRGs has been mixed.
- In response to restrictions on face-to-face training, the CRSU has turned to creating online content. Courses are likely to be held over several days as to not overburden attendees. The CRSU is also working with Cochrane UK to carry out virtual training and they plan to do more of this in the future.
- CRSU offered support to CRGs to help support pandemic-related activity, but were not contacted to help in this context.
Having reached the end of the original five-year contract, the CRSU considers that the aims of supporting successful delivery of complex reviews and contributing to building capacity and capability within the research community have been successfully met. The CRSU hasn’t worked with all CRGs, however, not all CRGs carry out complex reviews, or already have existing expertise in-house. The Group acknowledged that as a specialist unit, the CRSU’s reach would always be limited and was not a concern.
9a) Wider Cochrane updates
KSW summarised highlights from Cochrane news and initiatives:
- Several editorial priority projects for 2020 are either underway or have been completed. These include implementing a new Conflict of Interest policy; a plain language summary pilot and a new editorial and management system for Cochrane.
- There has been a focus on Cochrane’s research integrity agenda and a Senior Editor and Editor have been appointed to support this work.
- Cochrane have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic in collaboration with members internationally. They have carried out priority setting initiatives, reviewed standards and guidance for Rapid Reviews, and supported production and fast-track publication. The first Rapid Reviews were published in the first week of April 2020.
Cochrane’s CEO, MW, was invited to attend ESPAG and gave a brief update on Cochrane from an organisational perspective. MW advised that the current global pandemic has given Cochrane the opportunity to show the world their ability to respond to the urgent need for trusted evidence. Cochrane has been able to engage with external stakeholders and produce high-quality reviews in a short period of time.
The Group was pleased with the changes that Cochrane have made so far and look forward to seeing the positive changes that are implemented in the future.
10a) COVID-19 discussion
MAK introduced this item and acknowledged that every organisation has had to review its ways of working and many decisions, for the better, have been recognised and implemented. ESPAG members were invited to discuss matters relating to COVID-19.
12) AOB and Close
KP provided the Group with an update on the new NIHR Centre for Engagement and Dissemination. The new Centre went live on 1 April 2020 and is should bring synergies between public engagement and dissemination activities. The new Director is Jeremy Taylor and he has been involved in public and patient engagement for many years. The Centre’s three main outputs will be similar to existing products and will take the form of Alerts, Collections and Themed Reviews.
Next meeting is Friday 4 December 2020 10:30 – 15:00 at Minerva House, London.