What we do
The Melbourne GRADE centre acts as a regional base for the GRADE working group in Australia, providing training and support for systematic review authors and those developing health guidance. GRADE methods provide a transparent approach to rating the certainty of evidence and developing healthcare recommendations.
Our centre aims to enable use of the GRADE approach through activities that include:
Training in the use and interpretation of GRADE – courses are offered regularly in Melbourne and other locations
Methodological support and consultancy for those wanting to use GRADE methods in clinical practice guidelines, research synthesis and health policy
Advancing GRADE methods by leading and contributing to GRADE-related research, and disseminating new guidance
Who we are
The Melbourne GRADE centre is based at Cochrane Australia. Our team of trainers, methodologists and researchers bring long-standing experience from our work supporting review authors and guideline developers, and applying and advancing systematic review methods.
All members of our team hold roles within Cochrane, an independent, not-for-profit organisation that produces systematic reviews recognised as an international gold standard for high quality, trusted health information. Cochrane was among the first organisations to implement GRADE and contributes to the development of GRADE through its Cochrane GRADEing methods group. The Melbourne GRADE centre formalises our team’s regional role in supporting the use of GRADE by review authors and those developing health guidance.
Training
The Melbourne GRADE Centre has trained more than 1000 systematic review authors and guideline developers in GRADE methods. We offer two standard online workshops as scheduled courses or on request. These course can be tailored for delivery to teams responsible for guideline development and as part of the induction for new guideline panel members.
Using the GRADE approach to summarise evidence for policy and practice is designed for systematic review authors, guideline developers and others wanting to apply GRADE when synthesising and interpreting evidence. This course is run over two half-days and covers GRADE methods for interpreting findings and assessing the certainty of evidence, preparing summary of findings tables and evidence profiles, and software to support the use of GRADE. In our interactive introductory workshops, we focus on the use of GRADE for interpreting effects of interventions.
Using the GRADE Evidence-to-Decision framework to make healthcare recommendations and decisions is designed for those developing guidance for clinical practice or policy. This half-day course introduces participants to the process of moving from evidence to recommendations using the GRADE framework in an interactive mock panel. It is suitable for guideline panel members and technical teams responsible for preparing Evidence-to-Decision frameworks. The course is offered as an optional half-day session to those attending the main GRADE workshop on summarising evidence, and can be delivered on request as a stand-alone for new guideline panels.
Training schedule 2023
| Date | Workshop | Location | Links |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9 & 10 February | Using the GRADE approach to summarise evidence for policy and practice | Online (via Zoom) | Registration closed |
| 21 February | Using the GRADE Evidence-to-Decision framework to make healthcare recommendations and decisions (optional 3rd session for those attending the main GRADE workshop) | Online (via Zoom) | Registration closed |
| 5 & 6 October | Using the GRADE approach to summarise evidence for policy and practice | Online (via Zoom) | Register here |
| 12 & 13 October | Using the GRADE Evidence-to-Decision framework to make healthcare recommendations and decisions (stand alone OR optional two half-day sessions for those attending the main GRADE workshop) | Online (via Zoom) | Register here |
Methods development
Our centre contributes to the development of GRADE through collaborating on GRADE-related research and disseminating new guidance. Members of our team have a special interest in the use of GRADE in overviews of systematic reviews, and are leading research in this area. Learn more.
Resources
The GRADE working group site provides up-to-date GRADE guidance, criteria for applying or using GRADE in reviews and guidelines, and information about GRADEpro GDT. GRADEpro is a web application to create, manage and share summaries of research evidence (called Evidence Profiles and Summary of Findings Tables).
Visit Cochrane training for access to GRADE guidance and other publications from the GRADE working group, online training modules, webinars, and the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions.
Visit the Guidelines International Network (GIN) youtube channel for presentations on guideline development including an introductory webinar on using GRADE in guidelines.
GRADE news and events
Training from other GRADE Centres
Tweets by @GRADE_WG
Contact us
We welcome enquiries about any aspect of our work, including our workshops, methodological support, and opportunities to contribute to the GRADE working group.
