Institutionalizing evidence-informed decision-making (EIDM) requires standardized processes, partnerships, coordination, transparency, and skilled brokerage. As Sultana Al Sabahi, Knowledge Translation Specialist at the Sultanate of Oman, stated on the third and final day of the 2023 WHO Evidence-to-Policy (E2P) Summit, institutionalization “is a process as much as it is an outcome”.
The six domains of WHO’s checklist for the institutionalization of EIDM – 1) governance, 2) standards and routinized processes, 3) leadership and commitment, 4) resources and capacity-building, 5) partnership, and 6) culture were highlighted alongside country-level examples advancing these domains to promote stronger and more resilient EIDM processes. The Summit’s closing day brought together panelists leading efforts to institutionalize evidence-to-policy processes along with those working to integrate AI more effectively and ethnically into evidence ecosystems.
Panellists emphasised the vision-building benefit that AI can bring, including accelerating the production and synthesis of evidence, as well as the creation of evidence products, dissemination and evaluation across evidence ecosystems. However, EIDM products are not immune to the universal concerns about accuracy, bias, transparency and explainability of AI generated products. Across panels, the importance of policy foresight and future thinking were emphasized by many, including Marith Volp, Director of Dutch Public Health and Health Services, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM).
Tanja Kuchenmüller, Unit Head, Evidence to Policy and Impact at WHO and Rana Hajjeh, Director, Programme Management, WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean (EMRO), brought the Summit to a close. Kuchenmüller called for members of the E2P community to continue nurturing the 2021 EVIPNet Call for Action by promoting institutionalization, methodological pluralism, and greater collaboration across evidence ecosystems through the establishment of a Coalition of Partners guided by trust, humility and transparency. Dr Hajjeh closed with a note of optimism and hope in the continued progress to institutionalize EIDM in the EMRO region and globally.