Evidence Synthesis Network for Canada to Support Pandemic Planning and Response

We have been leading efforts since 2020 to build networks to address urgent issues related to pandemic planning and response with robust and rapid evidence syntheses conducted within days or weeks. Time-limited funding from CIHR enabled us to bring together a Canadian evidence-synthesis network to produce evidence syntheses, which we called COVID-END (COVID-19 Evidence Network to support Decision-making). We have also been able to successfully work through networks that we have led, to extend our ability to produce evidence syntheses for other groups and policy domains, including key federal agencies, provincial ministries of health and other interest holders. This has allowed our network to continue to provide evidence to inform responses to emerging threats such as mpox and avian influenza, and areas that require continued planning and responses. Though there is still strong demand for evidence syntheses produced in our network, funding is now precarious. As a result, the existence of our network and its ability to produce the types of evidence syntheses that so many decision-makers have come to rely on for pandemic planning and response is uncertain. Our proposal is to expand and enhance our pan-Canadian network using a 'hub and spoke' approach. The network 'hub' will be led by the McMaster Health Forum, which has experience providing leadership and support for large domestic (e.g., COVID-END) and international networks (Global Commission on Evidence to Address Societal Challenge and the Evidence Synthesis Infrastructure Collaborative). The 'spokes' in the network will include 21 evidence-synthesis teams from across Canada that are committed to being timely and responsive to decision-makers. Essential to our network are also many types of experts including those working in pandemics, zoonosis and on equity-related issues as well as citizen- and Indigenous-advisors who help to ensure our work is relevant and useful to all types of decision makers.