The Evidence-Informed Policy Network (EVIPNet) in Brazil since its inception in 2007, has been consolidating its activities in different axes, especially in the dissemination and exchange of the lessons learned and strategies developed in Brazil through participation in congresses, events and international meetings; organizing training workshops
to support evidence-informed policies (PIEs) and deliberative policy dialogues; promoting the use of scientific evidence in the formulation and implementation of health policies; producing syntheses of evidences and policy dialogues; and national articulation of the Network member and partner institutions.
BIREME, as a member of the Advisory Board of EVIPNet Brazil since 2007, has been actively participating in the Network and collaborating directly in the development of the EVIPNet Brazil web portal, in training activities on access and use scientific evidence in the formulation of health policies and in the context of the SUPPORT Methodology, and in supporting the Evidence Centers and the Working Groups for the development of the syntheses of evidence for health policies.
Event in Brasília
As an expression of the consolidation of EVIPNet Brasil, the Ministry of Health of Brazil promoted the First National Meeting of the Evidence-Informed Policy Network 
(Brasilia, December 13-14, 2016) with the participation of BIREME and other important members of the EVIPNet Network, such as Ulysses Panisset (UFMG and former coordinator of Global EVIPNet as employee of the World Health Organization), Jorge Barreto (Fiocruz and coordinator of EVIPNet Brasil) and Evelina Chapman (Ministry of Health of the Province of Buenos Aires and former coordinator of EVIPNet Americas). This meeting brought together collaborators from the 12 Evidence Centers and the four EVIPNet Brasil Working Groups, as well as other professionals and researchers interested in incorporating research results into health policies, translation of knowledge and syntheses of evidence already produced by the Network .
Besides the meeting, a rapid response workshop for evidence-informed policies was held to discuss the design of a methodological model based on scientific evidence on the use of rapid response in decision-making and strategies adopted by institutions in other countries such as Uganda and Canada. In South America, there is still no such service and EVIPNet Brasil can be a pioneer in the use of a model that quickly meets the needs of managers without compromising the reliability of the evidence presented. To do this, the method must remain transparent and systematic. It is necessary to discuss the best “shortcuts” so that the best answers can be offered to managers in a timely manner, highlighted Jorge Barreto and Evelina Chapman, the workshop facilitators.
Certainly, BIREME will continue to collaborate with EVIPNet Brazil especially in its web portal, supporting the Evidence Centers and the Working Groups to access the evidence for the production of syntheses, and in the near future, rapid responses.
Meetings Highlights:
- Presentation of 12 synthesis of evidence for health policies produced by the Evidence Centers
- Launching of the Collection of Evidence Summaries for Health Policies – Volume I. (in Portuguese) Available at: http://brasil.evipnet.org/sinteses-de-evidencias-evipnet-br/
- Launching of the special issue of the Bulletin of the Health Institute with the topic Health Policies Informed by Evidences (in Portuguese and Spanish). Available at: http://www.saude.sp.gov.br/instituto-de-saude/producao-editorial/boletim-do-instituto-de-saude
- Dissemination of the 2nd Public Call to support knowledge translation projects within the framework of EVIPNet Brazil. (in Portuguese) Available at: http://brasil.evipnet.org/ii-chamada-publica-evipnet-brasil-abre-inscricoes/