Every year Cochrane awards members of its Community with a range of prizes that highlight high-quality methodological research, supporting health decision-making in developing countries, and contributors who have made a significant contribution to the organization.

The winners of the 2022 prize will be announced at Cochrane's Annual General Meeting on 17 October 2022.

We encourage everyone in the Cochrane Community to review these awards and nominate collogues. You have until the 3 October 2022 to make your nominations.

The Kenneth Warren Prize

The Kenneth Warren Prize is awarded to the principal author of whichever Cochrane Review authored by a national living in a developing country is judged to be both of high methodological quality and relevant to health problems in developing countries.

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The Bill Silverman Prize

The Bill Silverman Prize is awarded to acknowledge explicitly the value of criticism of Cochrane, 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.

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The Anne Anderson Award

The Anne Anderson Award is awarded to a female member of Cochrane who has made a significant contribution to the enhancement and visibility of women's participation within Cochrane.

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The Chris Silagy Prize

The Chris Silagy Prize is awarded to an individual who has made an “extraordinary” contribution to the Cochrane' s work.

Nominations should be sent to Sally Green (sally.green@monash.edu) with the name of the Prize in the subject heading. Nominations should include a nominator, two seconders, acceptance of nomination and a one-page supporting document supporting the nomination against the criteria. A selection panel of three individuals is appointed each year from past members of the Steering Group and its advisory committees, and the previous year's Prize recipient (if not conflicted). A governing committee oversees the Prize.

Cochrane, the global, independent network of researchers, professionals, patients, carers and people who are interested in evidence-informed healthcare is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr Gavin Adams as their first Director of Development.

Gavin will join Cochrane – which recently welcomed Catherine Spencer as new Chief Executive – in early October to lead a portfolio of work in fundraising, communications and business development. His experience and credentials are a great match for Cochrane.

Gavin is currently employed with the Extern Group as Director of Business Development. Extern is a large charity which delivers services to extremely vulnerable people in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, including people who are homeless, refugees, people with addictions, and disadvantaged young people and families. In this role, Gavin leads on the organisation’s income generation, communications and engagement, strategic development and public affairs activities.

Prior to taking up his role with Extern, Gavin undertook a similar position with the Royal National Institute for Blind People (RNIB). Gavin has also been a Programme Manager and Head of Programmes with the Big Lottery Fund where he managed the assessment of funding applications and developed new funding programmes.

Catherine Spencer, Chief Executive, Cochrane said:

“Cochrane is evolving. Gavin’s experience and knowledge in both development and programme management will help him develop worthwhile business and funding opportunities. His extensive experience of senior management will serve him well as a member of our Executive Leadership Team and leading a large multi-function team.”

Commenting on his appointment, Gavin stated:

“I am hugely excited about this opportunity to work with Cochrane. A key function of this role will be to ensure Cochrane continues to deliver its vital work, ensuring a sustainable and successful future and I look forward to bringing my experience to this role.”

• Learn more Cochrane's Strategy for Change

Since the start of the year, the Governing Board and Council have each been holding monthly meetings by videoconference. These alternate between meetings with formal agendas; and ‘agenda-less’ meetings, which provide space for more informal, free-flowing discussions that can be difficult to create in virtual meetings. This month, the Board held a formal meeting.
 
Governing Board meeting:  
The Governing Board met on 13 July. If you want to read the papers from the open access agenda pack, they’re available to download from the Board’s pages on the Cochrane Community website.
 
Catherine Spencer was welcomed to the meeting, her first formal meeting as CEO. CET staff who are leaving Cochrane were thanked for their service and commitment.  The focus of  the meeting was the decisions the Board has a legal and regulatory responsibility to take before the Trustee’s Report and Financial Statements are approved. These decisions were:

1. Approval of the Letter of Representation and the Going Concern Assessment in connection with the audit of the Cochrane Collaboration for year ended 31 December 2021. This enabled  
2. Approval of the 2021 Trustees’ Report & Financial Statements.

Two further ‘business’ resolutions were approved: to appoint Casey Early, Director of Finance & Corporate Services as Company Secretary; and to provide Catherine Spencer with all CEO-level financial and non-financial delegations with effect from 11 July 2022.

For questions or comments about Board agendas, please email support@cochrane.org.
 
Tracey Howe & Catherine Marshall
Co-Chairs, Governing Board

Catherine joins Cochrane from The Seafarers’ Charity where she held the position of CEO.

Governing Board Co-Chairs, Tracey Howe and Catherine Marshall said: "We are delighted to welcome Catherine to Cochrane. Catherine is a proven Chief Executive with an exceptional record leading non-profit organisations. She brings expertise in strategic planning, change management, and communications under pinned by a global perspective. Catherine is well positioned to partner with the Editor-in-Chief, Karla Soares-Weiser, to lead Cochrane as we drive an exciting programme of delivering trusted evidence, promoting informed decisions, and better health.”

Prior to her role at The Seafarers’ Charity, Catherine was acting Chief Operating Officer and Director of Communications and Change Management at international public health research organisation, icddrb, in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Between 2008-2015 Catherine held various senior management roles at the Army Families Federation, including three years as Chief Executive.

Catherine Spencer said, “Like all organisations post-Covid, we have challenges to deal with, but I see so much opportunity for Cochrane in the future. I look forward to what will inevitably be stimulating conversations with the Cochrane Community about what a thriving future Cochrane looks like and what we need to do to achieve that as we build a long-term strategy together.

I spent three and a half years working at icddr,b, in Dhaka, Bangladesh - a large public health research organisation, that at the time was facing enormous financial and structural challenge. Working as part of the Senior Leadership Team, and very closely with the Executive Director and Board, the organization was rejuvenated, meaning its essential public health research could continue. Thus, I come to Cochrane familiar with an organisation managing change and I look forward to working with you, collaboratively to steer Cochrane to success.”

Catherine will meet with the Cochrane Community in two introductory webinars on 27 July to accommodate different time zones. Invites will be sent directly to Community Members via email.

• Read Catherine's full bio

It is with great sadness that we share the news that our friend and colleague Gail Higgins recently passed away. Gail was the Senior Information Specialist for the Cochrane Kidney and Transplant Group in Sydney, Australia.

Gail was an active member of Cochrane, and she shared her knowledge and quick wit with many of us. Prior to joining the Kidney and Transplant Group, Gail worked with the Haematological Malignancies Group as it was then known in Germany, and the Cochrane Cancer Network, an initiative that was managed in the UK. In 2007 Gail was seconded to the World Health Organisation in Geneva to work on their clinical trials registry platform. Gail’s passion for Cochrane and for the Community she was part of came through during her time representing Information Specialists on the Cochrane Steering Group and as a member of the Information Specialists Executive.

Gail will always be remembered dearly as a caring colleague, and for her continued commitment and contribution to Cochrane over many years.

Our heartfelt condolences to her family, friends, and colleagues.

Please use this online tribute to share your memories and pictures of Gail Higgins and your condolence messages for her family. https://kudoboard.com/boards/4ejvU7j6 We will share this board with her family at the end of July.


Karla Soares-Weiser
Editor-in-Chief

Toby Lasserson
Deputy Editor-in-Chief

See Application Process.

Candidates with experience in digital product development, business development, or publishing are encouraged to apply

Cochrane is a diverse, global organization committed to informing healthcare decisions with the best available evidence from research. Organizationally, we are an international network of autonomously funded groups and a registered charity in the United Kingdom. Members of the Governing Board come from around the world and provide strategic leadership for the whole organization, as well as acting as Trustees of the UK charity.
 
Governing Board members work as a team, with complementary skills and backgrounds. They are a mix of elected members - who must be Cochrane Members - and appointed members, who bring an external perspective to the Board. Appointed members can be anyone with the relevant skills and experience and will not normally be Cochrane Members.
 
To replace current Board members retiring this year, we’re looking for two new appointed members with experience and expertise in one or more of the following areas:

• Digital product development
• Fundraising and business development
• Publishing and Open Access

The Board is running a separate appointments process for a new Treasurer. If you have expertise in accounting or financial management, particularly in a UK context, you should consider applying for the role of Treasurer instead. More information is available here.

This is an exciting opportunity to join the board of an internationally renowned healthcare organization as we embark on a program of substantial change in how we are organized as a global collaboration, and seek to complete our transition to become a fully Open Access source of health evidence.

Appointed members serve an initial three-year term and may be reappointed. Board membership is a voluntary, unpaid role, although expenses will be paid.
 
The deadline for applications is 15 July 2022. To find out how to stand for appointment, please visit elections.cochrane.org.

Candidates with experience in accounting and financial management are encouraged to apply

Cochrane is a diverse, global organization committed to informing healthcare decisions with the best available evidence from research. Organizationally, we are an international network of autonomously funded groups and a registered charity in the United Kingdom. Members of the Governing Board come from around the world and provide strategic leadership for the whole organization, as well as acting as Trustees of the UK charity.
 
Governing Board members work as a team, with complementary skills and backgrounds. They are a mix of elected members - who must be Cochrane Members - and appointed members, who bring an external perspective to the Board. Appointed members can be anyone with the relevant skills and experience and will not normally be Cochrane Members.

The Treasurer is a member of the Governing Board who supports their fellow Trustees to fulfil their obligation to provide financial oversight for the organization. Our current Treasurer, Karen Kelly, will step down from her position at the end of August 2023. To ensure a smooth handover and to increase the number of Board members with financial expertise, we are looking to appoint a new Board member who can act as Deputy Treasurer until August 2023, taking over as Treasurer from September 2023.

This is an exciting opportunity to join the board of an internationally renowned healthcare organization as we embark on a program of substantial change in how we are organized as a global collaboration, and seek to complete our transition to become a fully Open Access source of health evidence.

Appointed members serve an initial three-year term and may be reappointed. Board membership is a voluntary, unpaid role, although expenses will be paid.
 
The deadline for applications is 15 July 2022. To find out how to stand for appointment, please visit elections.cochrane.org.

Since the start of the year, the Governing Board and Council have each been holding monthly meetings by videoconference. These alternate between meetings with formal agendas; and ‘agenda-less’ meetings, which provide space for more informal, free-flowing discussions that can be difficult to create in virtual meetings. This month, both the Board and the Council held formal meetings.
 
Governing Board:  
The Governing Board met on 11 May. If you want to read the papers from the open access agenda pack, they’re available to download from the Board’s pages on the Cochrane Community website.
 
The key decisions taken by the Board at this meeting were:

1. Approval to support a project that aims to find out more about the challenges and blockers in the review production pipeline, and for measures to support the finalization and publication of reviews. Learn more about plans for the future of evidence synthesis on Cochrane Community.
2. In-principle approval for Cochrane UK to host the 30th anniversary Colloquium in the United Kingdom in 2023. A detailed proposal for Board approval now needs to be developed, with a financial and risk appraisal.

For questions or comments about Board agendas, please email support@cochrane.org.
 
Council:
The Council met on 16 May. Council papers are available to download from the Council’s pages on the Cochrane Community website.
 
The Council heard updates and provided constituency perspectives on the first four of its five priorities for 2022:

1. Support the operationalization of plans to restructure the organization under the future of evidence synthesis program of work and ensure the voice of Cochrane Groups is heard as this work is progressed
2. Reconsider the Council’s own role, representation, and terms of reference in light of the changes to the organizational structure
3. Deliver a set of organizational values for Governing Board approval
4. Improve Council communications to Cochrane Groups and the wider community
5. Contribute to the strategy to deliver Open Access to Cochrane Reviews whilst maintaining the financial sustainability of Cochrane Groups and the Charity

If you have an issue you’d like the Council to discuss, contact your representatives, or email support@cochrane.org.

Tracey Howe & Catherine Marshall
Co-Chairs, Governing Board

Cochrane defines knowledge translation (KT) as the process of supporting the use of health evidence from our high quality, trusted Cochrane Reviews by those who need it to make health decisions. Cochrane Hong Kong has recently launched the Knowledge Translation Awards to foster University student talent in translation and in creative dissemination of Cochrane evidence. 

Cochrane Students play a valuable role in the work Cochrane does and also helps them gain hands-on experience with health evidence and the scientific community. This award, organized by Cochrane Hong Kong, The Nethersole School of Nursing, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, will recognize 36 students. The competition is open to all undergraduate and postgraduate students across the world. There will be two categories: 

• Knowledge translation creativity:  This award recognises undergraduate and postgraduate students who demonstrate talent in creating accessible, effective, and visually appealing works of evidence communication based on a Cochrane intervention review. 
• Evidence Translation: This award recognises undergraduate and postgraduate students who demonstrate excellence in translating Cochrane evidence into a different language with consideration of the local context of the target audience.

Call for entries is open until 31 July, 2022. Learn more about these awards and submit your entry.