Cochrane and the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI), a research and development centre within the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Adelaide, South Australia, are delighted to announce their official partnership aimed at improving the knowledge base for making decisions in health care and global health policy.

The two international not-for-profit organizations have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to develop a close working partnership which brings together their clear synergy of visions, missions, goals, values, principles, and products. Both organizations believe that systematic and rigorous approaches to research synthesis improve the knowledge base for making decisions in health care, and that this leads to better-informed choices by policymakers, practitioners, and members of the public.

Building on the strengths of each organization, the partnership will explore how Cochrane and JBI can work together effectively to avoid duplication of effort, and maximize their impact in delivering better global health decision-making.

Cochrane CEO Mark Wilson said: “We are excited by our new partnership with the Joanna Briggs Institute. We think that our work with JBI will help us extend the reach of Cochrane evidence into policy and practice more effectively around the world, through the materials JBI produces and through developing joint knowledge translation initiatives. Cochrane’s mission to deliver timely, accessible, credible evidence on which health decisions can be taken has never been more important for improving global health outcomes, and we are confident that this new partnership will help us do that.”

These sentiments were echoed by JBI Executive Director, Associate Professor Zoe Jordan, who said: “We absolutely recognize that there are several areas of complementarity where collaboration between our two organizations will serve the broader evidence-based community and movement well”.

Cochrane and JBI plan to explore opportunities for scientific and methodological research, as well as the sharing of data for the efficiency of evidence synthesis processes, and joint representation at major healthcare events.

The official partnership will run for an initial two years, in which time the two organizations will have the opportunity to assess the feasibility and benefits of a deeper integration.