Rigorous and systematically laid out evidence needs to be basis for effective policies that can improve the lives of the poor. Systematic reviews facilitate access to evidence that is valid beyond the context of a single project. They examine the existing evidence on a particular intervention or programme in low and middle income countries, drawing also on evidence from developed countries when pertinent.

E- libraries

• Cochrane Library of systematic reviews in health care
• Campbell Library of systematic reviews in social development
• SUPPORT summaries of systematic reviews in maternal and child health
• 3ie Systematic Reviews
• Prospero registry of reviews in health and social care

Tools and guidelines

• The Cochrane Handbook
• Campbell Collaboration Review Resources
• EPOC Group reviewer resource
• GRADE quality assessment and summary of findings tables
• 3ie criteria for systematic reviews
• Van der Knaap et al., (2008), ‘Combining Campbell Standards and the Realist Evaluation Approach: The best  of two worlds’, American Journal of Evaluation, Vol. 29 no. 1 48-57
• John N. Lavis (2009), ‘How can we support the use of systematic reviews in policymaking?’, PLoS medicine, Volume 6, Issue 11

Useful websites

• Campbell Collaboration
• International Development Coordinating Group
• Cochrane Collaboration
• Collaboration for Environmental Evidence
• The EPPI-Centre