Cochrane is pleased to announce the signing of a Partnership Agreement (PA) with the Campbell Collaboration, effective February 2015. The PA provides a framework for the two organizations to work more cooperatively and effectively together in a number of areas of common interest.

Cochrane has had close ties with the Campbell Collaboration since Campbell’s founding in 2000. The two organizations share several founding members, including Iain Chalmers, as well as closely aligned principles and goals. Informal communication and cooperation networks between the two collaborations are already in place, and will provide a sound foundation upon which to build a more formalized and targeted partnership. The potential for synergy between the two networks, one firmly established within the health sector, the other focused on social issues, has if anything grown since 2000, particularly with a greater appreciation of the social dimension of health.

The PA identifies a number of areas which we feel will benefit from closer cooperation; these include coordinating training initiatives for review authors and editors; developing streamlined processes for the production of co-registered reviews; and exploring opportunities for shared advocacy to support evidence-informed decision making.

“We’re delighted to be strengthening and advancing our longstanding relationship with the Campbell Collaboration,” said Mark Wilson, Cochrane’s CEO. “Closer cooperation will help us to achieve our shared mission of improving decision-making in all areas of policy and practice through access to and use of the best quality evidence.”