A series of webinars, held in October–November 2020 in an ongoing effort to build capacities in EECA countries in evidence-informed policy-making (EIP), provided member countries with practical guidance on how to develop an evidence brief for policy (EBP), which is a common tool in translating research evidence to policy. An EBP is a research synthesis on policy options targeting policy-makers in a user-friendly format.
The series of webinars aimed:
- to build technical capacity in drafting an evidence brief for policy to inform policy-making;
- to discuss and explore strategies to institutionalize EIP and EVIPNet teamwork in member countries;
- to facilitate exchange of experiences, lessons learned and good practices, including the success stories of member countries; and
- to increase understanding of and commitment to EIP and EVIPNet Europe.
“The expertise countries gain in the course of the EVIPNet workshops and webinars will be the basis for decisions on any health system priorities,” said Lianne Kuppens, WHO Representative and Head of the WHO Country Office in Uzbekistan, during the opening of the virtual meeting for EECA countries together with the Deputy Minister of Health of Uzbekistan, Dr Elmira Basitkhanova, and Unit Lead a.i., Knowledge Management, Evidence and Research for Policy-Making, Ms Marge Reinap.
In the course of the five weeks following the introductory session, a series of five hands-on webinars, facilitated by Professor Fadi El-Jardali, Director of the Knowledge to Policy Center (K2P) Lebanon, WHO Collaborating Center for Evidence-informed Policy and Practice, focused on the main steps for developing and implementing evidence briefs for policy. During the learning experience country teams – comprising researchers, civil society representatives, medical practitioners and patients – worked on drafting the outline of the EBP on their respective policy topics. For example, Uzbekistan, following consultations with relevant players at both national and international level, focused on childhood cancer. This planned EBP is expected to inform the current policy developments in the area of childhood cancer in Uzbekistan. After every webinar the teams completed practical exercises for each of the steps and received feedback from the facilitator to ease gradual knowledge uptake.
Throughout the webinars, the WHO Secretariat of EVIPNet Europe reiterated the fundamental importance of evidence generation and knowledge translation in policy-making and its crucial role in supporting implementation of the European Programme of Work: United Action for Better Health in Europe, with special reference to decision-making in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Bringing a practical perspective to the process, the two EVIPNet Europe member countries, Hungary and Slovenia, shared their experiences in developing evidence briefs for policy and valuable lessons learned.
The series built on the first multicountry meeting of EECA countries in February 2020 in Kyrgyzstan and was organized together with the WHO Country Office in Uzbekistan under the umbrella of the USAID-funded Health Information System project, supported by the Ministry of Health of Uzbekistan.