ESIC series, Paper 11: Citizen engagement in evidence synthesis - Recommendations from the Evidence Synthesis Infrastructure Collaborative.

Abstract

Aim: To describe how citizen engagement was integrated into the Evidence Synthesis Infrastructure Collaborative (ESIC) planning process, assess its influence on key outputs, and reflect on the process and the implications for embedding meaningful citizen involvement in global evidence synthesis systems.

Background and objectives: Citizen engagement is increasingly recognized by citizens, policy makers, funders, and evidence producers as essential for ensuring that evidence synthesis is relevant, legitimate, and reflective of public priorities. Despite an established history and growing frameworks supporting engagement, its application across global evidence ecosystems remains inconsistent. The ESIC programme sought to optimize the future of evidence synthesis, and citizens were included as key interest holders from the outset. As the process unfolded, the scope and ambition of citizen engagement expanded substantially, revealing both opportunities and structural challenges within the evidence ecosystem.

Methods: Four citizen representatives participated across working groups and governance planning, later forming a dedicated citizen leadership group. Engagement methods included participation in planning meetings, review of draft documents, key informant interviews, collaboration with working group cochairs, and leadership within a series of citizen-focused global webinars. Citizen representatives also engaged in in-person meetings where they facilitated sessions and supported diverse citizen participation. Consultation with a wider network of citizen leaders and nongovernmental organization (NGOs) shaped the iterative development of the Citizens' Call to Action.

Results: Citizen input rapidly exceeded the original remit and catalyzed major shifts within ESIC. A Statement of Principles and subsequently the Citizens' Call to Action were codeveloped, widely circulated and refined, and strongly influenced the design of the Cape Town Consensus meeting and the final ESIC Roadmap. Citizen insights also informed the statement delivered to the United Nations on strengthening equitable evidence systems. The eventual US $126 million funding commitment and foundational arrangements announced by ESIC funders explicitly recognized citizens as essential partners, including representation in future coordination structures. Citizen-focused commitments are evident throughout the ESIC Roadmap and Cape Town Consensus Charter.

Conclusion: As one of eight categories of interest holders in ESIC, citizens are often at the bottom of asymmetry of knowledge and power and most at risk of being left out of considerations or victims of tokenism. Further, with significant diversity and no global "peak body" to represent them, citizens are a critical and complex category of interest holders. Meaningfully embedding citizen engagement within evidence synthesis infrastructure requires early planning, structural support, and sustained mechanisms for influence. The ESIC process demonstrated that citizens can substantially shape global evidence initiatives when included as full partners. The lessons learned highlight opportunities to strengthen equitable, collaborative, and citizen-centered evidence ecosystems, and emphasize the need for ensuring that commitments to citizen engagement translate into long-term implementation and accountability.