Dear Cochrane Members and community colleagues,

The Governing Board met in Lisbon, Portugal, on 19th, 22 and 23rd March 2018 and we wanted to share with you some of our key decisions. More information will be available in due course (as will the full open access minutes) but if you have any questions about these decisions, please contact one of us, any member of the Board, or Lucie Binder in the CEO's office.

We are pleased to report that the Board has approved the following items:

• A new Content Strategy framework and funding of £70,000 in 2018 and £200,000 in 2019 to support organizational content priorities for 2018-2020.
• The establishment of a permanent Cochrane ‘Fast-Track Service’ and financial support for its implementation in 2018-2019 (£89,500 per year for two years).
• The proposed process for reviewing Cochrane’s policy on commercial sponsorship and conflicts of interest for Cochrane Groups; and financial support for its implementation of £74,689.
• The plan to hold a Global Evidence Summit every four years after the next one in 2020 or 2021.
• The establishment of Cochrane Mexico as a new Cochrane Centre.
• The Cochrane MS and Rare Diseases of the Central Nervous System Group's application for Strategic Development Support.
• New governance resources, including a Governing Board Charter and Code of Conduct for Trustees (to be published soon).

We also make the following acknowledgements:

• Our thanks to the Central Executive Team and the entire Cochrane community for their work and commitment in delivering an extraordinary programme of work in 2017 and 2018 to achieve the Strategy to 2020 Objectives.
• Our thanks to the Cochrane Council for its work to date and to co-chair Julie Brown, who is stepping down from her role. We will be looking at ways to improve how the Council and Board work together given the Council’s essential role as a voice of the Cochrane community.
• Our welcome to Dr Ginny Barbour, new Chair of the Cochrane Library Oversight Committee (CLOC), who is supported by Dr Tracey Koehlmoos as Deputy Chair. The CLOC is looking to recruit up to three new members, including an individual with expertise in publishing law. Enquiries should be sent to Cochrane’s Editor in Chief, Karla Soares-Weiser.

And, finally, our grateful thanks to Cochrane Portugal’s Director, Professor António Vaz Carneiro, and his team for hosting the 2018 Cochrane Governance Meetings in Lisbon.

The Agenda and open access papers are available here on the Community site. The full Minutes will be available soon.

The next Governing Board face-to-face meeting will be during Cochrane Colloquium 16-18 September 2018, Edinburgh.

With our best wishes,

Cindy Farquhar and Martin Burton

Co-Chairs, Cochrane’s Governing Board