2019 was another active and eventful year for CEE, supporting and promoting the use of rigorous evidence synthesis to address environmental challenges. Our journal ‘Environmental Evidence’ published 39 articles last year and continues to grow in terms of submissions and reputation as the primary evidence synthesis journal in the environmental sector. We launched a test version of our new evidence service CEEDER (more below) and the wider evidence synthesis network continues to grow with numerous training events and developments in cross sector collaborations to raise capacity such as the Global Evidence Synthesis Initiative. The CEE network of contributors has grown significantly, whether they be authors of evidence syntheses, teachers and trainers, commissioners or evidence users, and 2020 promises to be even more exciting and significant. Here’s a taster:

1. The Environmental Evidence Summit in Ottawa in June promises to be a landmark event. It’s CEE’s third global meeting and it promises a significant expansion in scope. Go to the dedicated website https://environmentalevidencesummit.com/ for more details of speakers, sessions and training events. Get your abstract in soon if you want to present! It would be great to see you there.
2. Now that our journal Environmental Evidence is successfully established, we plan to restructure the Editorial Board and introduce new categories of papers. Please let us know what you think of the journal and what developments you might like to see in the future.
3. Some of you may have noticed that the CEE Database of Evidence Reviews (CEEDER) is now accessible from our website. This is an ambitious new project that aims to provide a free evidence service by collating all evidence reviews in the environmental sector as they are published or otherwise become available. The database is open access allowing evidence users to search for relevant reviews that claim to measure impact from human activity or effectiveness of an intervention. All reviews are critically appraised for their reliability using the CEE Critical Appraisal Tool (CEESAT) to help evidence users find the best available evidence. Take a look https://environmentalevidence.org/ceeder, we are currently adding 2019 reviews.
4. Enlarging of the CEE network will be a key development in the coming year. We plan to continue to increase the number of Centres but more significantly, we plan to expand the collaborative network by registering CEE ‘Affiliated Groups’. More details of this opportunity will be circulated soon.

The majority of CEE’s work is done through voluntary support from our network of contributors (that’s you), and we thank all of you who have supported and contributed to the growth of the CEE. We hope to see or hear from you in the next year and look forward to working with you in the next decade.

Happy New Year!