Cochrane’s status as a non-governmental organization (NGO) in official relations with the World Health Organization (WHO) was renewed at WHO’s Executive Board meeting in January 2019.

Cochrane’s official relation status gives us the right to appoint a representative to participate, without vote, in WHO’s meetings – including at the World Health Assembly, WHO’s decision-making body – allowing us to make expository statements on WHO health resolutions.

Our plan of work for the next three years focuses on providing WHO with evidence syntheses that will help inform guidelines, the essential medicines list and other technical guidance. In addition, we will offer methodological assistance, training on how to interpret evidence syntheses, and support activities that facilitate the use of evidence in policymaking at country, regional and global levels.

The ongoing partnership with WHO is underpinned by the enthusiasm and hard work of members of the Cochrane community – so a big thank you to everyone who has engaged in these activities.

Recent highlights from the Cochrane–WHO partnership
•    Eleven Cochrane Reviews inform a WHO guideline on digital healthcare guideline
•    Cochrane at the WHO: EVIPNet and the European Advisory Committee on Health Research
•    Cochrane at the WHO: Department of Reproductive Health and Research’s Scientific and Technical Advisory Group
•    Cochrane at the WHO: Identifying and charting the impact of Cochrane evidence
•    Collaborating with WHO for evidence-informed nutrition guidelines
•    Cochrane Evidence used in new WHO guideline on intrapartum care for a positive birth experience
•    Cochrane and WHO meet to discuss how to improve their long-standing partnership

Do you work with WHO?
We would also like to know about your engagements with WHO – in meetings, expert groups, or other projects – allowing us to build on all existing connections and make the most of this strategic partnership.

Please get in touch with Emma Thompson, Advocacy and Partnership Officer at Cochrane, about your work with WHO so that we can help publicise these activities.

Cochrane 2019 Governance Meetings, Krakow, Poland
Tuesday 2 April 26, 2019
Cochrane Review Group (CRG) Networks strategic session

This interactive session was planned to present the strategic developments of CRG Networks and to support wider engagement with the Cochrane community by providing a place for transparent discussion between groups in the community and the CRG Networks.

The session was moderated by Karla Soares-Weiser (Deputy Editor in Chief) and Sally Green (Co-Director of Cochrane Australia and Governing Board member) with a panel of Senior Editors introducing the Networks and their two-year strategic plans. This was followed by a Q&A from the community members. The Q&A focused on the following areas: priority setting, advocacy, KT, implementation of new methods, sharing experience, and capacity development.

We hope you will enjoy watching this session and look forward to hear your thoughts…

• CRG Networks Strategic Session Programme
• Round-up of all Cochrane 2019 Governance Meetings
   

Our best wishes,

Cochrane's CRG Network Senior Editors:

Lisa Bero – Public Health and Health Services Network
Robert Boyle – Children and Families Network
Michael Brown –Acute and Critical Care Network and Circulation & Breathing Network
Chris Eccleston – Mental Health and Neurosciences Network
Cindy Farquhar – Abdomen and Endocrine Network
Nicole Skoetz – Cancer Network
Peter Tugwell -  Musculoskeletal, Oral, Skin and Sensory Network

The March for Science is organising an international Day of Action on Saturday 4 May, 2019.
 

Over the last two years, the global March for Science movement has organized 1,000 events and mobilized millions of people to support science and justice. This year, the March for Science will highlight the need for science-based climate action and healthcare, as well as the importance of science education.
 

A large flagship march is being organised in New York City, with satellite marches and events, such as science town halls, rallies and outreach events, taking place in cities around the world on the same day.
 

As an official partner of March for Science, Cochrane encourages our contributors and colleagues to get involved in participating in or planning a March for Science event in your area.

Get informed about what’s happening

Check the March for Science website to learn more about the March’s mission and values, or to find a march or event near you.
 

Promote your involvement and the March for Science

Post or retweet news on social media using the #MarchforScience2019 and #May4Science hashtags. Share information about a local march or event with your local networks – your Cochrane colleagues, your host institutions, local partners, or other groups that you work with or are involved in.

Join March for Science Cochrane Crowd's classification challenge
Cochrane Crowd, Cochrane’s citizen science platform, is a global community made up of volunteers who are helping to identify the research needed to support informed decision-making about healthcare treatments. Cochrane Crowd is hosting 1 hour screening challenge 10-11am BST on 4 May and efforts will contribute to the goal of 3 million classifications. This is a perfect virtual event for those wanting to participate in the March for Science but don't have have a local event to attend! No experience necessary and all are welcome to join. Read more about the March for Science Classification Challenge!
 

Get involved!

Want to find out if there's a satellite march or event near you? Check the listing of registered marches and events and register to attend.
 

Reach out to local March for Science organizers ­– let them know that you work with an official partner organization and offer to help get involved in planning. Are you or a Cochrane colleague in your area willing to speak publicly about the key role that science plays in society and how it affects critical issues in your region? Consider liaising on getting Cochrane contributors included as event speakers or spokespeople. Don’t forget to review our Spokesperson policy for guidance, and please contact Jo Anthony with any questions or for support on developing messages.
 

Find out if your local event is scheduled to have an exhibition space or interactive activities. This is a great promotion activity for Cochrane Centres!

If you’re marching

Take photos of you and your poster for social media. Please share them with us as we will have a round-up news item after the Day of Action. You can also use the official March for Science posters.
 

Questions or suggestions?

If you’ve got questions or other ideas on getting involved and making the March a success worldwide, please contact us; we’ll be updating this resources page with ideas, resources, and news right up to 4 May.

The Governance Meetings provide the main annual opportunity for Cochrane’s senior leaders and Group managers to come together to learn about and discuss organizational priorities, challenges and opportunities. Each year they are hosted by a different Cochrane Group. The 2019 Cochrane Governance Meetings were hosted by Cochrane Poland in Krakow on 1-5 April.

We are pleased to share with you the opening ceremonies for the Cochrane Governance Meetings 2019.

0:00 - 0:35 Welcome - Martin Burton, Governing Board Co-Chair
0:36 - 1:53 Opening Speech from Host - Professor Rafal Olszanecki, Cochrane Poland
1:54 - 18:38  Governing Board Co-Chairs - Martin Burton and Marguerite Koster
18:39 - 34:30 Meeting our Mission - Mark Wilson, CEO (View PowerPoint slides)
34:31 - 1:00:42 Editor in Chief Report - David Tovey, Editor in Chief (View PowerPoint slides)
1:00:43 -1:08:24 Cochrane Council Co-Chairs Update - Miranda Langendam and Fergus Macbeth
1:08:25 - 1:16:08  Question Period (referenced article by Trish Greenhalgh)

Following these opening remarks there was a full day of cross-group strategic sessions on Tuesday 2 April and a half-day on the morning of Wednesday 3 April (download full program). Documents that were discussed during these sessions include:

• Principles of Collaboration - Draft for consultation
• CRG Networks Panel programme
• Authorship of Cochrane Reviews - from the Cochrane Council
• Recruiting and retaining skilled authors for Cochrane Reviews - from the Senior Management Team

Cochrane Review Group Networks Panel Discussion

This was an interactive discussion and presentation session on the opportunities and challenges for all Group-types in supporting the continuous improvement of editorial standards for Cochrane Reviews and the development of CRG Networks.
 

Pictures: You can view and download pictures from the Governance Meeting from our Dropbox Folder.

Summary of the meetings:

• Message from the Governing Board
• Cochrane Croatia shares their experience
• Cochrane Rehabilitation provides a summary

Did you attend the meetings? We would like to find out how you found this year's Governance Meetings and how we can improve them further for when we meet again next year in Manchester, UK.  We hope that this survey is an opportunity to collect suggestions on how we can better work together and how we can create Governance Meetings that are collaborative and productive. Your honest feedback is important in helping to improve future meetings. Your name and department will not be collected and your answers are confidential. If you were an attendee of the Krakow meetings, please take five minutes to complete the survey by Friday 3 May. We will review the answers and report back to the Cochrane Council and Board in May.

Would you like like to discuss the Governance Meetings further? All Cochrane Members can provide feedback on the Governance Meetings on the Cochrane Forums (topic: Governance > Governance Meetings 2019).

The new name for Cochrane Long-term Conditions & Ageing Network

Following consultations with all Cochrane Reviews Groups (CRGs) within the network, the Cochrane Long-term Conditions and Ageing Network are pleased to announce that they have changed their name to the Cochrane Abdomen and Endocrine Network.

Initial discussions about the name change began in November 2018, with the appointment of Professor Cindy Farquhar as the Senior Editor for the Network.

Several names were proposed by the Senior Editor and Network members that captured the scope of the six CRGs within the Network (Cochrane Colorectal Cancer, Cochrane Hepato-Biliary, Cochrane IBD, Cochrane Kidney and Transplant, Cochrane Metabolic and Endocrine, and Cochrane Upper GI and Pancreatic Diseases).

Options were voted on ahead of the Governance meetings in April 2019, and the final name agreed during the Network’s face-to-face meeting in Krakow. The agreed name was circulated to all Network members on 3 April 2019.

Our new name provides our Network with a clear and cohesive identity as we take our work forward. 

• Learn more about Cochrane Abdomen & Endocrine

The 26th Cochrane Colloquium, Santiago 2019 abstracts deadline has been extended.

This year’s theme is ‘Embracing diversity’, recognizing Cochrane as a truly global independent community, addressing relevant health questions from international stakeholders using a range of diverse methods.

We ask that abstract submissions consider the relevance to this theme. In particular, we welcome submissions that address or discuss diversity on reviews from different viewpoints/angles.

The deadline for workshop submissions is 12 April 2019.

The deadline for abstracts has been extended to 26 April 2019.

All submissions will be notified of their outcome in June 2019.

• View the call for abstracts
• View the call for workshops
• Find out more about this year’s Cochrane Colloquium in the exciting city of Santiago, Chile

Changes to the Cochrane Council

The Cochrane Council aims to ensure that Cochrane Groups retain an effective voice in Cochrane’s leadership and strategic decision-making.

Fergus Macbeth, Co-Chair of Cochrane Council, has stepped down from his position after two years of service on the Council; Fergus will continue his work as Co-ordinating Editor of the Cochrane Lung Cancer Group.

We are delighted to announce the appointment of Craig Lockwood as the Council's new Co-Chair, who will work with current Co-Chair Miranda Langendam. Craig is the Director of Implementation at the Joanna Briggs Institute of Science as well as the Director of the Cochrane Nursing Care Field. He is the Council's Representative of Cochrane Fields Groups.

The Council and the Governing Board wish to thank Fergus for his contribution to Cochrane and wish many congratulations to Craig on his appointment.

• Learn more about Cochrane Council
• See the full membership of the Cochrane Council

World Journal of Meta-Analysis invited Farhad Shokraneh, the information specialist of Cochrane Schizophrenia Group, to summarise seven strategies to enhance the reproducibility of systematic reviews. It is an open access paper and you can read it here: 'Reproducibility and replicability of systematic reviews'

Our Strategy to 2020 aims to make Cochrane the ‘home of evidence’ to inform health decision making, build greater recognition of our work, and become the leading advocate for evidence-informed health care. To meet our goals we have expanded our social media platforms to include Instagram! Instagram is a free photo and video sharing app. Some Cochrane Groups are already using the app, including Cochrane France,  Cochrane Russia, Cochrane Iran, Cochrane UK, Cochrane Rehabilitation, and Cochrane Common Mental Disorders.  We also have an account for the Cochrane Colloquium that will be passed to each host Centre annually.

It’s connected us with a different demographic then some of our other platforms – so far our audience is young (18% 18-24, 53% 25-34, and 19% 35-44) and mostly students or in their early career (nurses, doctors, dentists).

• If you are using Instagram we invite you to follow us at @cochraneorg 
• You can take a a look at our Instagram profile on youer desktop here.  
• If you are thinking about Instagram as a dissemination platform for your group or currently have an account, please review these tips.