Rapid Reviews of “What Works, and Does Not Work” in Addressing the Problems

Better Futures for Children undertakes rapid review and assessment of the evidence on what has been found to work or does not work in addressing problems that affect in and out of school children and adolescents. School and community stakeholders require urgent information on what has been found to wok and what does not work in addressing intractable school and community problems. 

Rapid review is a methodology that provides timely information and evidence on what has been found to work in school and community settings and with children and adolescents from diverse backgrounds. We consolidate the evidence from systematic reviews, and from other best available evidence, where systematic reviews are not available. 

Systematic reviews are on top of the “evidence hierarchy” and they summarise evidence about what works and does not work from multiple studies in different contexts. Rapid review of the evidence from systematic reviews, and from the best available evidence moderated by professional knowledge, reduces the time needed to generate the evidence. 

We work with the identified stakeholders (teachers, head teachers, university researchers and community experts) in identifying and reviewing systematic reviews and the best available evidence on what works and does not work in addressing the identified school and community problems. Engagement of stakeholders in identifying, reviewing and summarizing the evidence may require “rapid” training of selected school and community stakeholders in rapid review and synthesis of the evidence.