STREAM

Project Summary

Timeliness has been highlighted as a key factor influencing the utility of research and evaluation findings. A wide range of rapid evaluation, assessment and appraisal approaches have been developed to make findings available when they are most needed, but challenges in their design and implementation have raised concerns regarding their rigor and the validity of the findings. 

The Rapid Research Evaluation and Appraisal Lab are working to improve the transparency and completeness of reporting and to increase the quality of rapid studies by developing Standards for Rapid Evaluation and Appraisal Methods (STREAM). This is an 18-month MRC-UKRI funded research project that will bring together expert knowledge from the literature and key stakeholders of rapid research to develop STREAM.  The overall goal is for STREAM to become internationally used as a guideline for the design and implementation of rapid evaluations and appraisal methods, as a reporting template, and as a quality assessment tool.  

Consultations will then be conducted with the end-users of the standards. Should you be interested in this topic or wish to contribute with your expertise, please do not hesitate to reach out to Prof Cecilia Vindrola: c.vindrola@ucl.ac.uk , Dr Norha Vera San Juan: n.verasanjuan@ucl.ac.u or Sigrún Clark: sigrun.clark@ucl.ac.uk

For more information visit our webpage - https://www.rapidresearchandevaluation.com

Key Project Information

Dates: June 2022 – November 2023

UCL lead/Principal Investigator: Prof Cecilia Vindrola (Department of Targeted Intervention)

Co-PI: Dr Norha Vera San Juan (IGH)

Partners: Stephanie Kumpunen - Institute of Epidemiology and Healthcare, UCL

Patrick Nyikavaranda - Department of Primary Care and Public Health, Brighton and Sussex Medical School

Dr Ginger Johnson - UNICEF, Geneva, Switzerland

Dr Petra Gronholm - Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London UK

Location: UK 

Funding: MRC-UKRI

Contact: n.verasanjuan@ucl.ac.uk, c.vindrola@ucl.ac.uk, sigrun.clark@ucl.ac.uk

Publications

Sigrun Clark, Cecilia Vindrola, Norha Vera San Juan. A systematic review of the methods used to ensure rigour, transparency and validity in rapid evaluation, appraisal and assessment research.. PROSPERO 2022 CRD42022341825 Available from: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42022341825

Reporting guidelines under development - STREAM

Standards for Rapid Evaluation and Appraisal Methods - Sigrún Eyrúnardóttir Clark, Cecilia Vindrola-Padros, Norha Vera San Juan