Ireland GRADE Network

Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation

Building capacity in evidence quality assessment across Ireland

About Ireland GRADE Network

Supporting healthcare professionals and researchers in evidence-based decision making

What is GRADE?

GRADE (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation) is a transparent framework for developing and presenting summaries of evidence and provides a systematic approach for making clinical practice recommendations.

Our Mission

The Ireland GRADE Network aims to build capacity and expertise in the use of GRADE methodology across Ireland, supporting healthcare professionals, researchers, and policymakers in making evidence-informed decisions.

Network Activities

We provide training workshops, mentorship programs, and resources to support the implementation of GRADE methodology in systematic reviews, clinical guidelines, and health technology assessments.

Training & Support

Building expertise in evidence quality assessment

Workshops

Regular training workshops covering GRADE methodology basics, advanced topics, and software tools. Sessions designed for beginners through to experienced users.

Mentorship

One-on-one mentorship and support for researchers and teams implementing GRADE in their systematic reviews and guideline development projects.

Resources

Access to GRADE handbooks, software tools, templates, and examples to support your evidence synthesis and guideline development work.

Our Team

Meet the Ireland GRADE Network team

Dr. KM Saif-Ur-Rahman

Dr. KM Saif-Ur-Rahman

Director
Evidence synthesis methodologist, GRADE working group member
Professor Declan Devane

Professor Declan Devane

Executive committee member
Trials methodologist, evidence synthesis methodologist, GRADE working group member
Dr. Linda Biesty

Dr. Linda Biesty

Executive committee member
Qualitative evidence synthesis specialist
Dr. Sinead Duggan

Dr. Sinead Duggan

Executive committee member / Northern Ireland Lead
Quantitative evidence synthesis specialist
Dr. Thomas Conway

Dr. Thomas Conway

Training support coordinator
Evidence synthesist, training coordinator

Network Members

Institutional members of the Ireland GRADE Network

Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA)

The Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) is an independent statutory body established to promote safety and quality in the provision of health and social care services for the benefit of the health and welfare of the public. Its work extends across setting standards, regulating and monitoring health and social care services and supporting evidence-informed decision-making. HIQA has responsibility for the following:

  • Setting standards for health and social care services
  • Regulating social care services
  • Regulating health services
  • Monitoring international protection accommodation service centres, health services and children's social services against the national standards
  • Health technology assessment
  • Health information
  • National Care Experience Programme

HIQA's evidence synthesis functions use GRADE and the GRADE Evidence-to-Decision (EtD) framework in the course of their day-to-day work. In addition, HIQA's Centre in Ireland for Clinical guideline support and Evidence Reviews (CICER) team provides training to guideline development groups on GRADE and the GRADE EtD framework.

Visit HIQA website →

Key Resources

Tools and materials to support GRADE implementation

Training Materials

Access training resources →

Join the Ireland GRADE Network

Please email us expressing your interest to become a member at ire@gradeworkinggroup.org

GRADE Working Group

The international GRADE Working Group

The GRADE Working Group is an international collaboration of researchers, methodologists, and guideline developers who have developed the GRADE approach. The Ireland GRADE Network is part of this global community working to improve the quality of evidence assessment in healthcare.

Visit GRADE Working Group →