Making equity, diversity and inclusion central to environmental evidence synthesis

Environmental decisions increasingly rest on evidence syntheses, structured reviews such as systematic reviews that pull together quantitative and qualitative findings using methods designed to be comprehensive and repeatable. A new perspective article in the journal Environmental Evidence argues that the value of these syntheses depends not only on the evidence they summarize but also on who does the synthesizing.

The core problem the authors identify is a reliance on available, published literature. Because syntheses typically draw on indexed publications, they can fail to represent the diversity of languages, experiences and communities involved in producing high-quality evidence.

Drawing on their own varied experiences across evidence synthesis, the team maps out where principles of equity, diversity and inclusion, commonly abbreviated as EDI, can be woven into the synthesis workflow. They organize the process into three core phases: pre-production, production and post-production. The point of the mapping is to show that EDI need not be an add-on; it can be embedded at each existing step.

Across these phases, the authors highlight opportunities to incorporate new practices that will better reflect the true evidence base and minimize biases, reflecting the abstract's warning that a synthesis restricted to available, published literature can fail to represent the diversity of languages, experiences and communities involved in producing high-quality evidence.

The article does not stop at diagnosis. The authors reflect on current synthesis structures and processes and identify concrete opportunities for new practices that would better reflect the full evidence base and minimize biases. They also provide resources and examples of good practice intended to guide authors who want to change how their teams work. By grounding recommendations in the standard phases of a synthesis, the paper aims to make EDI integration actionable rather than aspirational, giving review teams specific junctures at which to intervene.

The timing, the authors argue, is favorable. A growing awareness of the importance of EDI across research makes this an opportune moment to rethink how review teams engage in evidence synthesis, so that both the processes and the outputs are underpinned by practices of equity, diversity and inclusion. Evidence synthesis is already positioned as a tool that decision-makers can use to inform policy and management; the article’s argument is that its accessibility and usefulness for decision-makers improve when the people and knowledge sources behind it are more representative.

The piece is published as a perspective article, a format that presents the authors’ considered analysis and experience rather than the results of a new empirical study. Readers should therefore treat its recommendations as expert reflection on practice, with the resources and examples provided as starting points for teams to adapt.

For the environmental evidence community, the significance of the article lies in connecting a methodological tradition, structured and repeatable synthesis, with a broader movement toward inclusive research practice. If syntheses are to serve as trustworthy inputs to policy and management, the authors suggest, the field must attend to who engages in synthesizing evidence, which they identify as an important determinant of the results, including their legitimacy, validity and representativeness. The framework of pre-production, production and post-production offers a practical scaffold for doing so, and the accompanying resources aim to help authors move, as the title puts it, from awareness to action.

Subject of Research: Integrating equity, diversity and inclusion principles into environmental evidence synthesis processes and outputs

Article Title: Centering equity, diversity and inclusion in environmental evidence synthesis: from awareness to action

Article References: Harper, M., Provencher, J. F., Alexander, S. M., Bennett, J. R., Cvitanovic, C., Garside, R., Febria, C., Menzies, A., Nakagawa, S., Nguyen, V. M., Rytwinski, T., Stewart, R., Tshangela, M., Wilcox, A. A. E., & Cooke, S. J. (2026). Centering equity, diversity and inclusion in environmental evidence synthesis: from awareness to action. Environmental Evidence. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13750-026-00393-w

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1186/s13750-026-00393-w

Keywords: evidence synthesis, systematic reviews, equity, diversity, inclusion, environmental policy, research bias, grey literature, knowledge diversity, Environmental Evidence journal, Centering, environmental