Transforming Global Evidence: AI driven infrastructure to embed evidence synthesis in the working lives of policymakers

Aims and objectives Billions of people could be better off if we used the evidence and research funding available more effectively. This project will help policymakers achieve better results for less money by providing timely summaries of the state of current knowledge through a transparent scientific process known as evidence synthesis. This work is urgently needed to help achieve the missions and priorities of all levels of UK government; to support the “rescue plan” for the Sustainable Development Goals; to help the world tackle the climate crisis; and to help individuals, businesses, and local decision makers around the world to achieve their goals. Our current inability to utilise research effectively is compromising our collective ability to develop effective policy. Our ultimate goal is a timely, comprehensive, and reliable living evidence synthesis capability, covering all major social questions, used by policymakers and others around the world to improve people’s lives. Approach We will create new breakthrough AI and open data infrastructure to make evidence synthesis faster, cheaper, and more relevant to policymakers’ needs in the UK and globally. Human-AI workflows will enable us to create comprehensive, up-to-date, and accurate portals of all relevant research on a topic in ready-to-use form, offering ‘real-time’ evidence synthesis. We will develop new research methods to tackle some of the biggest needs of policymakers using evidence synthesis: applying evidence from one context to another; answering the large-scale questions policymakers work with; and assessing and making the most of varied research, evaluation and other evidence. We will engage with policymakers to understand their needs, and to promote evidence usability and use. We will adapt how evidence synthesis is presented, and distributed until it becomes their go-to resource. We will work in partnership with the wider evidence support systems inside and outside government. Experienced teams of researchers and policymakers working together will deliver exemplar projects of living evidence synthesis in four areas of national and international importance: education, crime and justice, climate, environment and society, and international development. The overall result will be an extensible and flexible infrastructure that can be applied across the whole of social science and public policy. Allied to this will be a growing network of organisations engaged in promoting and using evidence synthesis to inform decision making. Leadership expertise The Campbell Collaboration UK and Ireland is the ideal organisation to lead this initiative, given its pivotal role in building the intellectual and practical foundations for evidence synthesis in public policy, based on joint principles of inclusivity and reliability. The leadership team is a global partnership of synthesis leaders and infrastructure providers, experts in technology, methods, policy, and supporting evidence use. The team has a proven record in cutting edge AI for evidence synthesis and a track record of using AI to transform another global evidence sector. Sustainability This project is made possible by at least £15m in aligned spending and a wealth of pre-existing AI software development. This includes Wellcome funding through our partner projects DESTINY and SOLACE-AI. Each exemplar project will benefit from co-investment or aligned investment. It will become part of the global Evidence Synthesis Infrastructure Collaborative that is being co-created in an open global process facilitated by some of our group, and the plans will be revised in line with the outcomes of that process in mid-2025.