eBASE Africa Joins METIUS, a Global Consortium Building the World's First Living Evidence Infrastructure

eBASE Africa has joined METIUS (Mobilising Evidence Through Artificial Intelligence and User-Informed Synthesis), a £11.5 million UK Research and Innovation initiative that is bringing together leading evidence organisations, universities, and policy institutions from around the world to transform how scientific evidence is generated, synthesised, and used.

Led by Queen's University Belfast, the five-year project aims to build the world's first living evidence infrastructure, using artificial intelligence to ensure that policymakers, practitioners, and communities can access the latest research evidence as it emerges rather than waiting months or years for traditional reviews to be completed.

The consortium brings together partners from across the evidence ecosystem, including universities, research organisations, government agencies, and evidence intermediaries working in education, health, climate, justice, and international development.

Why the Current System Falls Short

Every day, new research is produced across sectors that influence people's lives. Yet much of this evidence remains difficult to access and use in real time. Traditional systematic reviews, widely considered the gold standard for synthesising evidence, can take between 18 and 24 months to complete. By the time they are published, new studies may already have emerged, and critical policy windows may have passed.

METIUS seeks to address this challenge through the development of living evidence systems that continuously identify, organise, and update research as new findings become available. By applying artificial intelligence to tasks such as searching, screening, deduplication, and data extraction, the project aims to reduce the time required to synthesise evidence while maintaining rigorous methodological standards.

The result will be openly accessible evidence infrastructures that help decision-makers access relevant and up-to-date evidence when they need it most.

eBASE Africa's Role in METIUS

As an African-led organisation working across the evidence ecosystem, eBASE Africa brings experience in evidence generation, synthesis, translation, dissemination, and implementation. Over the years, the organisation has worked with governments, researchers, practitioners, and communities to strengthen evidence-informed decision-making across education, health, and gender equity.

Within METIUS, eBASE Africa contributes to the project's Education Exemplar in partnership with the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) in the United Kingdom. This work focuses on strengthening global access to evidence on what works in education and supporting the development of continuously updated evidence resources linked to Sustainable Development Goal 4 on quality education.

The partnership aligns closely with eBASE Africa's commitment to improving foundational learning outcomes and ensuring that research evidence informs policy and practice across Africa.

Participation in METIUS also provides an opportunity for African perspectives and experiences to contribute to the design of global evidence infrastructures. As conversations around artificial intelligence and evidence synthesis continue to evolve, eBASE Africa will help ensure that the realities and priorities of low- and middle-income countries are reflected in emerging solutions.

A Global Collaboration

METIUS is led by Professor Sarah Miller at Queen's University Belfast and includes a diverse range of partners from across the globe. These include the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), the Campbell Collaboration, University College London's EPPI Centre, the Pan-African Collective for Evidence (PACE), 3ie, King's College London, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, the Environment Agency (UK), and several other institutions contributing expertise in evidence synthesis, artificial intelligence, policy engagement, and data infrastructure.

The project is funded by UK Research and Innovation through the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), with co-funding from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT).

METIUS also serves as the anchor investment in the Evidence Synthesis Infrastructure Collaborative, a global alliance working to advance living evidence systems in support of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Looking Ahead

For eBASE Africa, joining METIUS represents more than participation in a global research initiative. It is an opportunity to contribute African expertise to the future of evidence-informed decision-making and to help shape systems that make high-quality evidence more accessible, timely, and useful for policymakers and practitioners worldwide.

As the project progresses, eBASE Africa looks forward to collaborating with partners across the consortium to strengthen the connection between research and action, ensuring that evidence reaches the people who need it when they need it most.