Welcome to the webpage of the NIHR ESGs Best Practice Working Group on Living Evidence Synthesis (LES) – a UK-based community of practice (CoP) for sharing best practices in the planning, conduct, and dissemination of LES among National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Evidence Synthesis Groups (ESGs). This working group / CoP ('the Group') has been convened by the specialised LES group (BUcKLES) on behalf of all UK-based ESGs, currently comprising: nine evidence synthesis groups, three specialised screening evidence synthesis groups, and the specialised LES group itself.
The Group will:
- Provide a forum for discussion about LES methods, tools, and workflows;
- Facilitate capacity building for the further development, judicious application, and rigorous evaluation of LES methods, tools, and workflows; and
- Develop agreed criteria and guidance for the use and application of LES to inform policy, practice, and research, including consideration of topic suitability.
See our living 'Terms of Reference' document for further information.
See below for details of the Group's regular bi-monthly meetings and occasional events:
2026 upcoming meetings:
- 19th Mar 2026 @ 13.00-14.00 GMT: Special Joint Webinar with the ESGs Best Practice Working Group on Automation and Technological Advancement | Tomasz Kozakiewicz | Living mode parameters and automation in living Evidence and Gap Maps (L-EGMs): a scoping review | Newcastle University, UK
- 14th May 2026 @ 12.00-13.00 BST: Webinar | Cochrane's work on living evidence synthesis | Toby Lasserson | Cochrane
- 7th Jul 2026 @ 12:00-13:00 BST: Workshop | Survey of Current Practice in LES #1: Launch | Anna Noel-Storr & Ian Shemilt
- 17th Sep 2026 @ 12.00-13.00 BST: Webinar | The ALIVE Learning Forum & The Living Evidence Atlas | Cristián Mansilla | Alliance for Living Evidence (ALIVE)
- 3rd Nov 2026 @ 12.00-13.00 GMT: Workshop | Survey of Current Practice in LES #2: Results & Findings | Anna Noel-Storr & Ian Shemilt.
2026 meetings history:
- 15th Jan 2026: Webinar | How crowdsourcing can support living evidence synthesis | Anna Noel-Storr | Cochrane / Complex Reviews Synthesis Unit | Slide Deck | Recording (via Dropbox)
- 3rd Mar 2026 @ 13.00-14.00 GMT: Webinar | Developing, using and evaluating the next generation of digital evidence synthesis tools to produce AI-powered living evidence synthesis for climate & health | Maria-Inti Metzendorf and Max Callaghan | Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Germany | Slides | Recording (via Dropbox) (Part-Rec)
2025 meetings history:
- 1st Jul 2025: Introduction and consultation | Anna Noel-Storr & Ian Shemilt | Slide Deck
- 4th Sep 2025: Webinar | Living systematic reviews: what, why, when & how? | Rebecca Hodder | University of Newcastle, Australia | Slide Deck | Recording (via Dropbox)
- 4th Nov 2025: Webinar | New PROSPERO record for living systematic reviews | Kerry Dwan | University of York, UK
Members of this Group also maintain the LES Toolkit.
This Group is currently co-led by Anna Noel Storr (Cochrane / Complex Reviews Synthesis Unit) and Ian Shemilt (EPPI Centre / BUcKLES / LACES). For all enquiries about the Group, contact Ian Shemilt via e-mail to: i.shemilt@ucl.ac.uk