Supporting the use of evidence – new partnership between McMaster and Lanzhou universities

The McMaster Health Forum is pleased to announce a formal collaboration with Lanzhou University’s Evidence-Based Medicine Center. This agreement, which is the first official collaboration signed between the Forum and another organization in Asia, builds on a long-standing partnership we’ve developed with the Chevidence working group, which is led by Dr. Yaolong Chen and based in the Evidence-Based Medicine Center of Lanzhou University. This partnership will promote further academic collaboration in research, education and service.

“This is a great opportunity for us to continue building our international networks and promoting evidence-informed health- and social-systems,” said John Lavis, Director of the McMaster Health Forum. “It’s also a recognition of our joint commitment to supporting the better, and more systematic, use of evidence in policymaking.”

The collaboration will take many forms:

• continuing the Chinese translation of Health System Evidence (HSE), and its dissemination and implementation in China;
• developing, disseminating and implementing evidence in the social sciences;
• developing research proposals and projects and exchanging relevant scientific information;
• exploring the development of university-based educational programs and community-based training programs; and
• facilitating the exchange of faculty members, research staff, and students for research, teaching, and professional training.

“We are excited to formalize our collaboration with McMaster University,” said Kehu Yang, Director of the Evidence-Based Medicine Center of Lanzhou University, “and look forward to learning from each other to enhance our current work and create opportunities to expand our leadership in the effective use of evidence.”

This collaboration builds on the existing relationship between John Lavis and Yaolong Chen. This collaboration was made possible thanks to Lavis and Chen, as well as the efforts of McMaster’s Ni Jadon.

This collaboration was finalized in August when John Lavis travelled to China to visit Yaolong Chen and Kehu Yang at Lanzhou University. During his stay, John gave two lectures to students at Lanzhou University on “Supporting Evidence-Informed Policymaking: Methods and Examples” and “Preparing Evidence Briefs and Convening Stakeholder Dialogues to Inform Policymaking.” He also joined the faculty of Lanzhou University’s Evidence-Based Medicine Center and other invited speakers from across China for an expert roundtable on evidence-based social sciences. John offered some suggestions and comments on the development of evidence-based social sciences in China, and discussed potential cooperation between Chinese research institutions and the Forum.