Current secretariat roles

Rapid-Improvement Support and Exchange (RISE) is currently focusing much its coaching and other implementation supports on Primary-Care Network (PCN) enablement and primary-care clinical leadership, as well as providing implementation support related to data sharing and privacy in integrated-care initiatives. RISE uses a learning health system (LHS) approach in all of this work.

The Forum acts as the secretariat for RISE, the Forum’s director (John Lavis) is co-lead of RISE, and the Forum’s managing director (Kaelan Moat) is the executive lead for RISE. Forum staff, including the Senior Scientific Lead for Evidence Support (Kerry Waddell), provide evidence support for RISE.

The Evidence-Support Network for Canada (ESN-CA) uses a hub-and-spoke model to provide timely, demand-driven evidence support to government policymakers, system leaders, professionals and citizens. ESN-CA currently has hubs in place for four of the eight needed forms of evidence, namely data analytics, behavioural and implementation research, qualitative insights, and evidence synthesis. The hubs can respond independently or work together for a more joined-up response when ‘windows of opportunity’ open in advisory and decision-making processes and in learning and improvement platforms.

The Forum acts as the secretariat for ESN-CA and the Forum’s director (John Lavis) is co-lead of ESN-CA. Three Forum staff – its scientific director (Mike Wilson), Senior Scientific Lead for Evidence Support (Kerry Waddell), and Citizen Strategy and Engagement Partner (Maureen Smith) – comprise the ESN-CA secretariat. Two of them (Mike and Kerry) co-lead ESN-CA’s evidence-synthesis hub. Forum staff conduct the work that the Forum does as its contribution to the hub.

The Evidence Synthesis Infrastructure Collaborative (ESIC) is a ‘community of communities’ committed to a collective-impact approach to learning from others – using evidence synthesis – to improve lives. Its communities range from 45 UN entities (through the Global SDG Synthesis Coalition) and the world’s largest producers of evidence synthesis (e.g., Cochrane, Campbell and JBI working collaboratively as Building a Global Evidence-Synthesis Community) to key networks of evidence intermediaries (including science advisors and evidence-support units) and 35+ funders (research, philanthropic, government, and international assistance). Secured by more than US$141 million in financial commitments, ESIC is currently undertaking its first learning and improvement cycle focused on four to six policy-scale living evidence syntheses and accompanying living evidence maps. It seeks to radically transform the world of evidence synthesis.

The Forum’s director acts as advisor to the Wellcome Trust for ESIC and serves as chair of its Steering group and Communities council. Two Forum staff (Mike and Kerry) contributed to ESIC’s planning phase and they and other Forum staff hopes to contribute to ESIC going forward.