Welcome

The COVID-19 Evidence Network to support Decision-making (COVID-END Global) came together to help those already supporting decision-making to find and use the best evidence that is already out there. It helped reduce duplication and better coordinate the evidence syntheses, technology assessment and guidelines being produced. For example, rather than have teams supporting decision-making in dozens of countries scrambling to find existing research evidence on the same question or similar questions about face masks in a one-week period, COVID-END Global enabled these groups to find what’s already there and then choose whether to use it, adapt it to their context, or work with a research partner to fill a gap in what’s known. 

In January 2021, the Government of Canada invested 1M$ in COVID-END to support Canadian needs. COVID-END in Canada collaborated and rapidly responded to the need for synthesized evidence and knowledge across the full breadth of Canada’s COVID-19 pandemic response (including public-health measures, clinical management, health-system arrangements, and economic and social impacts). COVID-END in Canada worked with global partners to reduce duplication of efforts, enhance development and coordination of knowledge synthesis and other related products, and provide current evidence to decision-makers at the federal, provincial, and territorial levels. It brought together more than 40 Canadian evidence-synthesis teams and leaders of key Canadian initiatives, governments and health authorities.

COVID-END Global and COVID-END in Canada were dedicated to bringing in the voices of citizens to ensure their perspectives were woven in its work.

See a brief video about COVID-END and the role of evidence syntheses to inform pandemic response.

Watch the video in French.