Co-designing the Evidence Synthesis Infrastructure Collaborative (ESIC)

Governments and UN agencies are struggling to turn scientific evidence into effective policy, and a new collaborative network aims to fix the broken pipeline between research and real-world decisions. The problem is that evidence synthesis—the process of systematically reviewing and combining research findings to inform policy—remains fragmented. Those who need evidence (policymakers), those who produce it (researchers), and those who translate it (science advisors) rarely coordinate. This disconnect slows progress on major challenges like the Sustainable Development Goals, where timely, reliable evidence could accelerate action on health, climate, and poverty. The Evidence Synthesis Infrastructure Collaborative brings together representatives from all three communities—demand, supply, and intermediaries—to design a shared plan. Over the course of the project, they will produce a "menu of options" for funders, identifying specific pieces of infrastructure to invest in or leverage, alongside a consensus roadmap of actionable steps. If successful, this work could transform how evidence flows from labs and libraries into government decisions, making policy more responsive to what science actually shows—without requiring any new technology, only better coordination.