Advocacy

In order to achieve the aims implicit in all the principles stated in this paper, ESI advocates for increased political and financial support for the development and use of evidence synthesis in decision making. The move from a largely expert or ‘ad hoc’ use of evidence in many political and practice decision making processes to a more structured approach (as in Principle 6 of our Position Statement) will, for example, require considerable political support. Advocacy (that is, preferably, evidence-informed in approach) can help to engage such support. This might include, for example, the use of success stories from the global community of the beneficial effects of evidence-informed decision making. It may also include support for new organizations or networks for coordinating such efforts in new fields where those are not existing.