The EPPI Centre’s inclusive philosophy is expressed in its work supporting review teams conducting systematic reviews in and for developing economies. This work began in 2007, when the Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research, now hosted by the World Health Organisation, awarded grants to institutions in low- and middle-income countries to establish centres for systematic review of health policy and systems research. The EPPI Centre’s role was to offer training and support to centres in Bangladesh, Chile, China, Lebanon, South Africa and Uganda.

Our efforts to support systematic reviews for developing economies broadened with the decision of the UK Department for International Development to strengthen the international development community's capacity for evidence-informed decision making through the production and dissemination of systematic reviews (http://www.dfid.gov.uk/r4d/systematicreviewfeature.asp). We have provided training to policy makers and researchers in London, in South Asia and on-line. We have also supported review teams funded by the Australian government’s aid programme and 3ie (the International Initiative for Impact Evaluation, http://www.3ieimpact.org/en/).

We have conducted systematic reviews of our own about agriculture, education, environmental science, health systems and microeconomics.

Our primary research has investigated the capacity for producing systematic reviews in low- and middle-income countries, and institutional models and mechanisms to support the production of policy relevant systematic reviews to advance health systems.