Fellowships

Evidence Synthesis Ireland Fellowship Scheme

The call for 2025 is now closed

The overall objective of the Fellowship is to give the Fellow the opportunity to learn about evidence synthesis in general, as well as to develop the practical skills of how to plan, design, conduct and report an evidence synthesis. The scheme places Fellows virtually with experienced evidence synthesis centres and review teams in Ireland and internationally.

Reviews will be advertised each call. Fellows will receive structured theoretical training from ESI and join an existing or new review team being led by experienced reviewers within the respective centre to gain hands-on evidence synthesis experience in a high-quality environment. Fellows will also receive one-to-one mentorship from a designated mentor from the review group. This will afford the Fellow the opportunity of networking with a range of stakeholders in evidence synthesis and will provide direct experience for ESI Fellows in the conduct of evidence synthesis projects that ultimately inform decision making for practice and policy.

Fellowships are open to researchers, policymakers, academics, healthcare professionals or clinician-academic trainees, information specialists, and postgraduate students, who are looking to learn the skills of evidence synthesis to apply to their topic area.

Host Centres

Benefits For Fellows

It is expected that ESI Fellows will gain the following benefits from their participation in the Fellowship scheme:

The opportunity to develop a variety of evidence synthesis methodology skills
Evidence synthesis experience without the need to manage or lead a review team
Free attendance at ESI evidence synthesis training workshops
Access to Covidence software for the duration of the Fellowship
Co-authorship on high quality review reports/publications
Access to a €1000 bursary to support travel and/or dissemination
Mentorship in evidence synthesis from high-quality review teams
Networking and collaboration opportunities with national and international experts

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the time commitment? Fellows should expect to spend a minimum of 8 hours per week (external to formal evidence synthesis theoretical training provided) working on their review. Although this may vary at different stages of the review, with some reviews having tight turnarounds by nature, this is the average expectation that Fellows are expected to commit to the review. Flexibility is required from Fellows, particularly with host centres in different time zones.

Where can I read about a Fellows experience? Read about ESI Fellow Ciara O’Meara’s experience to date here

Do I have to be resident of the island of Ireland? Yes, all applicants must be residents of either the Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland.

If I applied previously, can I use the same references Yes, we will hold references on file for two rounds

How many times a year will the call be announced? Up to three times a year – generally January, June and October, but these can vary depending on the availability of reviews.

Are these Fellowships paid? The Fellowships are unsalaried, which allows those working full-time to apply, and allows us to place Fellows with highly experienced evidence synthesis centres and review teams in Ireland and internationally for first-rate training and mentorship. Fellows receive access to a €1000 travel bursary, free attendance at ESI training events, co-authorship on high quality review reports/publications and other benefits as described in the guidance documents.

Where can I find the estimated start date and duration of the review? This information is found within each review form. Please note these will vary depending on the nature of the review, and flexibility may be required.

Available Fellowships

There are a number of Fellowships available across different review types. Read the review information in the below table.

Title	Type	Host Centre	Mentor(s)	Review Info
Women’s and healthcare providers views and experiences of care bundle use in maternity care – a qualitative evidence synthesis	Qualitative Evidence Synthesis	UCD	Valerie Smith	Click here
A methodological review of methods and mechanisms for measuring and monitoring outcomes from newborn screening	Methodological Review	West Midlands Evidence Synthesis Group (WM-ESG), across Universities of Warwick & Birmingham	Jacqueline Dinnes, Katie Scandrett	Click here
Two scoping reviews on breastfeeding decision-making and communication	Scoping Reviews	Centre for Effective Services	Jennifer Hanratty	Click here
What is the clinical and cost-effectiveness of local antibiotics in patients undergoing surgery for open fractures?	Systematic review	Aberdeen Centre for Evaluation	Miriam Brazzelli and Shaun Treweek	Click here
What effect does public health messaging about wildfire smoke and wildfire smoke + heat have on human behaviour and human health endpoints?	Rapid Review	National Collaborating Centre for Methods and Tools (Canada)	Sarah Neil-Sztramko	Click here
Ethical and Practical Considerations in Hospital-Based Treatment Trial Design: A Qualitative Evidence Synthesis to Optimise Trial Accessibility	Qualitative Evidence Synthesis	Evidence Synthesis Ireland	Linda Biesty	Click here

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“The input of our ESI Fellow, Ciara, to the successful completion of this review is not to be understated. I truly appreciate Ciara’s time and effort and am very pleased to have observed the development of her expertise in this area. The Fellowship has opened my eyes to future collaborations and other remote mentorship schemes. I found this whole experience very rewarding.”

“Working alongside my mentor and learning from her knowledge and expertise in evidence synthesis, was one of the biggest, tangible benefits from the ESI Fellowship. It was pivotal in helping me learn how to develop and adhere to rigorous screening protocols, and learn more about rapid reviews and quality appraisal tools.“

“The ESI Fellowship has been an ideal pragmatic education in evidence synthesis which has equipped me with the tools necessary to design and execute each aspect of a systematic review at the highest standard. I have benefitted enormously from the professional connections which it has opened in both Ireland and Canada.”

“Prior to the ESI Fellowship, I had no experience in evidence synthesis. The main benefit of the Fellowship was that it helped m e to develop skills in Cochrane methodology. I gained practical skills in citation screening, data extraction and quality assessments. I used Covidence, RevMan Web and GRADEPRo. I made a significant contribution to the write up of the methodology, results, abstract and plain language summary of a Cochrane review.”

“The ESI Fellowship provided additional resources to support the completion of a very large and complex review. It allowed us to develop a fruitful collaboration which is ongoing - Paul decided to lead a sister Cochrane review. The ESI Fellowship Scheme is a remarkably creative way of introducing and engaging Irish researchers to systematic review methodology.”

“It has been a pleasure to work with our ESI Fellow, Charlotte, as well as being a huge benefit in practical terms. It has meant that the review was able to proceed towards completion, at a high standard, by this point in time. This is particularly important as the subject of the review (communication for COVID-19) still remains an issue of importance to public health worldwide.”

Fellowships

Evidence Synthesis Ireland Fellowship Scheme

Host Centres

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