“Winning such a prestigious international award is a rare event and, frankly, important for career development”, Cochrane’s 2017 Winner; David Henry (Professor; Centre for Research in Evidence-Based Practice, Bond University, Australia)

William (Bill) Silverman (1924-2004) was one of the founders of American neonatal medicine. He was honoured repeatedly as one of the pioneers in his specialty; however, he often evoked somewhat contradictory responses amongst his colleagues because he was in the habit of raising troubling questions about the scientific basis and ethics of his and their practices. Like many of the people who have helped to establish Cochrane, Bill Silverman could be regarded as a 'troublemaker'. As he reiterated frequently, however, criticism is a form of troublemaking that can help to drive progress. Furthermore, criticism should not be limited to examining the work of others, but should also include self-criticism.

Every year Cochrane recognizes the outstanding work of Bill Silverman with its own award. It is offered annually and explicitly acknowledges Cochrane's value of criticism, with a view to helping to improve its work, and thus achieve its aim of helping people make well-informed decisions about health care by providing the best possible evidence on the effects of healthcare interventions.  David Henry, a Centre for Research in Evidence Based Practise Professor at Bond University of the Gold Coast, Australia, was the 2017 recipient of the Bill Silverman Prize.

David wanted to share what made him decide to enter for this prestigious Cochrane award.
At a personal level I had been involved with the Cochrane Collaboration on and off from the early days, after meeting Iain Chalmers during his initial visit to Australia. I did several reviews, but I had not been active in methods development. I was initially sceptical of the move to develop a risk of bias instrument for non-randomised studies of interventions but was won over by the relentless approach of Sterne, Higgins and Reaves in Bristol. Having been involved in the development of the ROBINS-I instrument I was keen to see if application of the tool made a difference to the results of systematic reviews in my own field – pharmacoepidemiology. A small team at the University of Toronto did the work and rather late in the process, one of the group pointed out that the work met the criteria for the Bill Silverman Prize, so we submitted the paper. 

Can you tell us a little more about what made you decide to enter for the Prize and the process involved?
We felt the topic of the work was important and insufficiently researched. An increasing number of observational studies are included in Cochrane reviews and before ROBINS-I, there had not been consensus on how to assess risk of bias in component studies, or even whether it matters. The development of the new Cochrane ROB tool offered an opportunity to determine if exclusion of studies based on their risk of bias altered the findings of reviews. The Bill Silverman Prize was an ideal means to draw attention to the work. Two students led the work and we knew that winning the prize would make a real difference to them at an early stage in their career. 

How did it feel to win? What does this award mean you, personally?
I was particularly pleased for the two students Anja Bilandzic and Tiffany Fitzpatrick who did most of the work. Winning such a prestigious international award is a rare event and, frankly, important for career development. I also must confess that at my stage in life the CV has become rather stale.  So, yes; a prize like this is a welcome contrast to the other boring content!

What’s been the impact of winning the Prize?
It has boosted the careers of the two students. Anja now works as an epidemiologist with Health Canada and Tiffany has enrolled in a PhD and has gone on to do further relevant research. We are very grateful indeed to the Prize Committee for the privilege of receiving the Bill Silverman Prize and I look forward to helping adjudicate applications for the current year.

• Read David Henry’s winning paper; ‘Risk of bias in systematic reviews of non-randomized studies of adverse cardiovascular effects of thiazolidinediones and cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors: application of a new Cochrane risk of bias tool'
• Find out more about Cochrane awards and prizes submissions which opens Friday 4 May

A new Cochrane-wide peer review policy has been published in the Editorial and Publishing Policy Resource. This policy has been introduced with the aim of improving transparency in decision making, consistent with core Cochrane principles, standardising practice across Cochrane, and implementing best practice for peer review.

As the policy standardises practice across Cochrane, some CRGs will be required to change their current peer review process significantly, whereas others will have very few changes to make.  In recognition of this, the policy will be implemented over a period of time – between now and January 2019 – with the aim that all CRGs will be compliant with the policy by January 2019.

Sitting alongside the policy document is an extensive guidance document, developed in collaboration with the Managing Editor (ME) support team, which contains practical information and suggestions for MEs and Assistant MEs, who will be most impacted by the changes. During the implementation phase there will be support available to help CRGs identify and implement any required changes to current processes, and allow time for communication with peer reviewers.

The four key highlights of the new policy are:

• From January 2019 Cochrane will adopt a named peer review policy, whereby authors and peer reviewers know each other’s identities during the peer review process.
• A decision workflow for deciding when to peer review updated protocols and updated Cochrane Reviews.
• A minimum number and type of peer reviewer.
• A minimum standard for acknowledgement of peer reviewer contributions.

One of two scheduled peer review policy webinars, introducing the policy, the key policy highlights and practical implementation suggestions, has already taken place.  The recording of this webinar, together with the slides, is available from the Cochrane Learning and Development website. The same webinar will also take place on 10th May at 07:00 UK/16:00 Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney/18:00 Auckland. Please register beforehand if you would like to attend.

In addition, as part of the Editorial and Publishing Policy Unit webinar series there will be a policy surgery webinar on 15th May at 12:00 UK/13:00 CEST, where anyone is welcome to join and discuss any editorial policy, or receive advice and guidance on any specific cases. Please register beforehand if you would like to attend.

The peer review policy represents a huge amount of work from a diverse group of stakeholders from across Cochrane, and many thanks go to everyone who has had a role in the development of the policy and guidance documents.  Particular thanks go to the MEs and AMEs who took the time to comment extensively on early drafts of the policy, and especially to Melina Willson for collating and coordinating the feedback.

If you have any comments or questions on the peer review policy, please contact Bryony Urquhart.

David Tovey
Editor in Chief

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

Julie Brown, Co-Chair of Cochrane Council, has stepped down from her position after one year of service on the Council and several years of collaboration as Cochrane Author with Cochrane Gynaecology and Fertility.

We are delighted to announce the appointment of Miranda Langendam as the Council's new Co-Chair, who will work with current Co-Chair Fergus Macbeth. Miranda is a member of various Methods Groups and an author with Cochrane Metabolic and Endocrine Disorders. She is the Council's Representative of Cochrane Methods Groups, alongside Yemisi Takwoingi.

The Council and the Governing Board wish to thank Julie for her  contribution to Cochrane and wish many congratulations to Miranda on her appointment.

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

Cochrane and Wiley are delighted to invite you to preview the new Cochrane Library website: https://betacochranelibrary.com/

This preview allows you to view some of the new enhancements to the Cochrane Library and to take a look at the site before the future full launch.

Please be aware that the site is still in development and that this is not the final version of the new Cochrane Library website. This preview site will not replicate all features of the current Cochrane Library, so please do not try to save searches or access your previous saved searches as this functionality will not be available until full launch.

Some of the enhanced features we are pleased to share with you include:

• Improved article design for Cochrane Reviews, CENTRAL records and all content
• Cochrane Clinical Answers now fully integrated in the Cochrane Library
• Search expanded across all content types, including Cochrane Reviews & Protocols, CENTRAL, Editorials, Special Collections, Cochrane Clinical Answers and other systematic reviews from Epistemonikos via a new federated search feature
• A new Spanish language portal and discoverability of translated content in multiple languages via basic search
• Improved search results display, including new filters for all content, and expanded sort and multiple record export options
• Advanced search tabs better integrated, and MeSH search feature improved
• Linking CENTRAL records to Cochrane Reviews
• Easy navigation between Cochrane Reviews, related podcasts, Editorials and Cochrane Clinical Answers

The Cochrane Library preview site has been live since Thursday 5th April. During this first week, we have seen 6,000 users, that’s an average of 850 users per day, and we have recorded over 22,000 page views.

We will be announcing the launch of the new Cochrane Library website in full during the coming weeks; in the meantime we value your thoughts on this preview site, and you can submit feedback here: https://betacochranelibrary.com/feedback

Best wishes

David Tovey
Editor in Chief
Cochrane Library

We are proud to announce this week the official launch of five new Cochrane Review Group (CRG) Networks: Cochrane Acute and Emergency Care; Cochrane Brain, Nerves, and Mind; Cochrane Circulation and Breathing, Cochrane Children and Families, and Cochrane Long-term Conditions and Ageing.

These new CRG Networks join the first two Networks launched in February. We welcome the formation of these new thematic Networks as part of the implementation of Cochrane’s CRG Transformation Programme, which sets out the changes we are making to ensure Cochrane addresses the challenges it faces in ensuring production of a comprehensive collection of timely, high-quality reviews, relevant to our stakeholders.

The new CRG Networks, each consisting of topically connected Review Groups, provide an opportunity to optimize resources, support, and leadership. You will be hearing regular updates about their work from the newly-appointed Senior Editors who will be leading the work of each Network.

We invite you to view their new websites:

• Cochrane Acute and Emergency Care
• Cochrane Brain, Nerves, and Mind
• Cochrane Children and Families
• Cochrane Circulation and Breathing
• Cochrane Long-term Conditions and Ageing

Cochrane Mexico has been recognized for its outstanding achievements in promoting evidence-based decision-making in health care by moving from a Cochrane Associate Centre to being awarded full, independent Centre status.

The Mexican Cochrane Centre consists of five Associated Centres located at Culiacán (Sinaloa's Pediatric Hospital), Guadalajara (University of Guadalajara), Mexico City (Mexico's Children Hospital Federico Gómez and Clínica Médica Sur Foundation) and Cuernavaca (National Institute of Public Health).

Cochrane Mexico will continue to promote evidence-based decision making in health care in Mexico and the region by supporting and training new authors of Cochrane Reviews, as well as working with clinicians, professional associations, policy-makers, patients, and the media to encourage the dissemination and use of Cochrane evidence.

• Read the full press Release on Cochrane.Org
• Visit the Cochrane Mexico website

We are delighted to announce the appointment of Jacob Rosenberg as the new Co-ordinating Editor of Cochrane Colorectal Cancer at the Herlev Hospital and University of Copenhagen in Denmark. Professor Rosenberg has authored or co-authored nearly 800 publications, including 706 scientific articles, 53 book chapters, and 26 textbooks, and has delivered several hundred scientific lectures internationally and within Denmark. He is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, US. He has been Editor in Chief for Ugeskrift for Læger and the Danish Medical Journal for 13 years and associate editor of the Scandinavian Journal of Surgery for 2 years. He was also a member of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) for 7 years and is past president of The Royal Copenhagen Medical Society.

Professor Rosenberg said: “I am delighted to take this position and look very much forward to the work. Cochrane Colorectal Cancer has currently a broad scope covering various issues within abdominal surgery. My goal is to streamline the editorial process, to continue the great work of enhancing the quality of the reviews, and to increase awareness and importance of the publications from our Cochrane Review Croup."

• Visit the Cochrane Colorectal Cancer website

2017 Dashboard is keeping us on track for 2018

Cochrane’s Annual Dashboard presents some key metrics on our organizational performance over the previous calendar year. It includes data on Strategy to 2020 target achievements, and key metrics around the four Strategy to 2020 Goals. It’s an excellent tool to use to reflect on what we accomplished in 2017 and the work to be done in 2018.

Some highlights from the 2017 dashboard include:

• Record numbers of people accessed and used Cochrane evidence to inform their health decisions: 12.5 million Reviews accessed from the Cochrane Library in 2017 (28% up from 2016); and Cochrane.org web visits increased from 5.7 million in 2015 to over 15 million in 2017.
• New national licences in India and South Africa contributed to 3.66 billion people worldwide having free at the point of use access to the Library.
• All of Cochrane’s 2017 targets were met with the exception of the launch of the new Cochrane Library (which is now scheduled for April 2018).
• Cochrane Library sales and royalties increased dramatically compared with 2016, contributing to a 17% increase in overall income and a £269,000 operational surplus. Cochrane reserves rose to £5.65 million.

See the 2017 Dashboard

Read more about the Dashboard

Read more about Cochrane's Strategy to 2020

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

TaskExchange has launched new features especially for evidence newcomers and translators!

TaskExchange is Cochrane’s online platform that connects people needing help on health evidence projects (Cochrane and non-Cochrane) with people who have the time and skills to help out. TaskExchange now has almost 2,100 contributors collaborating on systematic review and guidelines projects, with tasks including language translation, consumer and clinical review, data extraction, screening and guideline development.

We are always evolving and improving, and our most recent features aim to make TaskExchange even better for translators as well as newcomers to the world of evidence.

Evidence newcomers can now browse beginner tasks directly from the TaskExchange homepage. And all beginner tasks are marked with a green leaf, so they can be easily identified in the general task list.

‘Many of our contributors join TaskExchange to build skills in evidence production,’ says Tari Turner, Co-Lead of TaskExchange. ‘They may be medical or allied health students, Cochrane Crowd members, or people with a general interest in evidence but little or no hands-on experience. We wanted to make it easy for these people to start contributing to evidence. On TaskExchange, evidence newcomers can now access appropriate tasks directly from the homepage. They no longer need to wade through tasks requiring significant prior experience. This will make it much easier for them to get involved.’

If you’d like to gain evidence skills, visit TaskExchange today and browse the tasks for beginners!

Task posters now have the option of labelling their task as entry level; that is, appropriate for evidence newcomers. It’s as easy as ticking the box when you fill out the details of your task!

These changes have been well received by student communities. ‘At Students 4 Best Evidence, we’re really excited to learn about this new TaskExchange feature, which aims to make it clear which tasks are suitable for students’, explains Selena Ryan-Vig, Students 4 Best Evidence facilitator. ‘Not only will this make it easier for students to contribute to the work of Cochrane, but it also offers them the opportunity to gain really valuable experience and knowledge along the way. Hilda Bastian, one of the founding members of Cochrane, once said ‘young people are the most striking phenomenon. They’re bringing a blast of energy, enthusiasm…and cutting edge scientific work with them. It’s fantastic that TaskExchange are finding new ways to try and harness this.’

If you’re posting a task, consider labelling it as an entry level. Head to TaskExchange to post a task today!

Translation tasks are very popular on TaskExchange, and the platform has a dedicated group of translators with skills in many languages. To streamline the platform for translation tasks, several changes have been made. These include the ability to browse translations tasks from the home page, to filter for tasks in a particular language, to receive weekly email alerts related to that language only, and to nominate language skills in personal profiles.

Juliane Ried, Cochrane’s Translations Co-ordinator, explains, ‘We receive a lot of interest from volunteers who want to contribute to Cochrane and make use of their language skills. TaskExchange has already proven to be a great platform to help these people put their skills to work. The new language features will make it even easier for polyglots and those looking for their help to come together. TaskExchange has become an instrument to facilitate the multi-lingual nature of Cochrane’s community and research.’

If you’re a translator interested in working on health evidence projects, head over to TaskExchange and browse the translation tasks today!

Sign up to TaskExchange, follow us on Twitter and contact us at taskexchange@cochrane.org.

Support for Project Transform was provided by Cochrane and the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (APP1114605). The contents of the published material are solely the responsibility of the Administering Institution, a Participating Institution or individual authors and do not reflect the views of the NHMRC.