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NIH grant 1I50RD001920-01: Evidence Synthesis Program
Institute: {'code': 'VA', 'abbreviation': 'VA', 'name': 'Veterans Affairs', 'admin_org_id': '12500964', 'admin_funding_url': ''}. PI: Wei Duan-Porter. Award: $.
Start: 2026-10-01T00:00:00.
Significance to VA: The VA Evidence Synthesis Program (ESP) has been providing VA decision-makers with
timely, high-quality, contextualized evidence synthesis studies since 2007. We use rigorous scientific methods
to distill large quantities of information in the medical literature into relevant findings for the Veteran population
and VA setting. ESP is an integral part of VA’s Learning Health System (LHS). Well-conducted evidence
synthesis studies represent the highest level of evidence to guide decision-making and drive improvements in
VA policy and clinical practice, accelerating the translation of knowledge into performance and helping VA
achieve the Quintuple Aim. ESP’s research agenda is driven by the needs of the health system. VA program
offices and national clinical leads nominate the topics for ESP reports, and we offer a range of evidence
products to meet their needs and timelines. ESP reports inform VA decision-makers on the most recent and
reliable evidence in topic areas that align with VA priorities and VHA’s Strategic Plan. ESP reports are used to
inform VA’s response to Congressional legislation and assist VA in upholding the 2018 Evidence Act.
Strategic Goals: ESP’s overarching goal is to support VA’s LHS by facilitating the use of evidence to inform
policy, clinical practice, and future research though the production of rigorous, state-of-the-science evidence
synthesis studies. Priority goals are to: 1) Sustain a robust and responsive infrastructure to support the conduct
of timely, high-quality, contextualized evidence synthesis studies that are tailored to the Veteran population and
VA health care setting; 2) Identify and test innovative methods for evidence synthesis and knowledge
translation to enhance the usability of ESP evidence synthesis studies for audiences across the VA health
system; and 3) Build VA’s capacity to conduct evidence synthesis through mentorship and training of early
career investigators, HSR fellows, VA Quality Scholars, and other learners.
Activities and Methodologies:
Priority Goal 1: The Coordinating Center (CC) will use a standard process to evaluate topic nominations and
assign topics to ESP Centers, who will complete 12 evidence synthesis studies per fiscal year, ensuring that
VA leaders have access to high-quality, contextualized evidence synthesis to inform decision-making. The CC
will complete 2-3 evidence products per year on a rapid timeline, providing VA with a resource to respond to
time-sensitive evidence requests.
Priority Goal 2: ESP investigators will engage in a Community of Practice to identify, develop, and pilot novel
methods in evidence synthesis so that ESP remains engaged in methods development and is responsive to
emerging innovations in the evidence synthesis field. Likewise, ESP investigators will test 1-2 unique
dissemination activities per fiscal year to reach a wider VA audience.
Priority Goal 3: ESP Center leadership teams will provide training in evidence synthesis methodologies to VA
early career investigators, fellows, and other learners and encourage their collaboration on ESP reports to
further their career goals and ensure that VA maintains capacity to produce evidence synthesis studies.
Impacts and Dissemination: ESP employs several tools to disseminate report findings to VA leadership,
clinical staff, and researchers. ESP routinely collaborates with CIDER to create management e-briefs
summarizing each report. ESP report authors present findings at HSR cyberseminars and other appropriate
venues depending on the topic and intended audience. ESP reports are published on HSR’s public website
and indexed in PubMed through the NLM’s Bookshelf Program. Manuscript versions of ESP reports are
relevant to Veteran and non-Veteran populations and are frequently cited, extending the reach of ESP reports
beyond VA which increase the program’s impacts and position ESP as a national and international leader in the
evidence synthesis field.document fetched 2026-10-24 02:46