About the Evidence Center
Harvesting science. Delivering answers.
Vision
The vision for the Agriculture, Food, and Nutrition Evidence Center is to become a global leader and an independent, unbiased, and authoritative body for the review and synthesis of scientific evidence. Its collaborations will drive advancements in evidence synthesis methods that enhance precision and speed. The Evidence Center will cultivate standards, where needed, to enable integrating evidence across disciplines on the impacts of agriculture and food systems on human, environmental, and economic health.
Mission
The Evidence Center uses rigorous methods to synthesize existing evidence that answer scientific questions to inform decisionmakers of policies, programs, and regulations. It identifies the state of the science on the relationships between agriculture, food systems, food, and nutrition and human, environmental, and economic health outcomes. It is advancing methods and actively extending this knowledge through collaboration, training, and practice to expand its contributions to the evidence synthesis scientific community. The Evidence Center engages with agricultural and food systems sectors to assess needs for scientific understanding and address them through research, collaborations, and scientific communication resources.
Core Principles
Independence
The Evidence Center was established to operate independently from outside influence. External funders are involved in setting the scope of the study but are not involved in the research process. Our scientists conduct research where external influence in minimized, ensuring that the analyses remain objective and transparent. Our role is to synthesize and communicate what the evidence shows—without offering policy, program, or regulatory recommendations—so decision-makers and stakeholders can rely on unbiased and complete information.
Commitment
Commitment is the heart of the Evidence Center. We are public servants committed to improving health through science.
Evidence Center leadership and staff are dedicated to its vision with vigor and altruism. We invest in our team through tailored training based on needs assessments and extend these opportunities to the broader scientific community.
Rigor
The Evidence Center delivers uncompromised quality in our research. As evidence synthesis methods evolve, the Evidence Center implements high-quality approaches and advances method development to ensure rigor. Rigor comes together with transparency to support the reproducibility of our scientific work.
Transparency
At the Evidence Center, transparency means our processes and decisions are clearly documented. Funding sources, research methods, findings, and scientific communications are publicly available. We strive to publish our research in peer-reviewed journals that provide access to the public free of charge.
