Do you face an urgent policy decision and need a quick overview of research to boost confidence in your decision? A Rapid Evidence Assessment (REA) can give you this. REAs provide a structured and transparent search, quality assessment, and synthesis of available research. 

This guide talks you through everything you need to know about how to commission a REA that meets your needs. It is not intended as a technical how-to guide aimed at researchers, but aims to help you as a commissioner. Our hope is that this guide will give you a feel for the entire review process, to inform your tender document, and help you ask searching questions of the review teams, to create a final review that balance between rapidity and rigour.

This guide was produced in collaboration with the International Public Policy Observatory (IPPO), Rapid Research Evaluation and Appraisal Lab (RREAL).