Skip to content

OUR MISSION AT ESMARCONF

ESMARConf is a FREE, online annual conference series dedicated to evidence synthesis and meta-analysis in R. Our aim is to raise awareness of the utility of Open Source tools in R for conducting all aspects of evidence syntheses (systematic reviews/maps, meta-analysis, rapid reviews, scoping reviews, etc.), to build capacity for conducting rigorous evidence syntheses, to support the development of novel tools and frameworks for robust evidence synthesis, and to support a community of practice working in evidence synthesis tool development.

Central to our Mission at ESMARConf are the principles of  accessibility, equity, fairness and family. We believe that everyone should have unrestricted access to tools necessary to conduct efficient, transaparent, accessible, and rigorous evidence syntheses, as well as resources needed for training and capacity building.

Our Mission is to drive forwards the development of Open Source tools that can be used by everyone without barrier, and to foster a community of practice around tool use and development. We aim to nurture a safe and enjoyable environment for these tools to be developed and used, and we hope to make it fun!

ACCESSIBILITY AND EQUITY AT ESMARCONF

We aim to make sure that ESMARConf is accessible to everyone, irrespective of their background and circumstances. To that end, we continue to develop an Accessibility Policy together with the Evidence Synthesis Hackathon (our partner organisation and host) that supports. We welcome feedback and comments to help us improve this policy.

ESMARCONF CODE-OF-CONDUCT​

Safety and positivity are central to our mission at ESMARConf. We have certain expectations of our organisers and participants to ensure we maintain a safe and positive environment for everyone. As outlined in our Accessibility Policy and Code-of-Conduct:

People will be treated with dignity and respect regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation.

At all times people’s feelings will be valued and respected. Language or humour that people find offensive will not be used, e.g. sexist or racist jokes or terminology which is derogatory to someone with a disability.

No one will be harassed, abused or intimidated on the grounds of his/her/their race, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, disability or age. Incidents of harassment will be taken seriously.

PROVIDING FEEDBACK​

As described in our Accessibility Policy and Code-of-Conduct, feedback is really important for us to continue to improve ESMARConf and rapidly correct and mitigate for things that don’t go to plan. Feedback can be provided in whatever format (verbal, written, etc.) people feel comfortable using, and may be given anonymously via de-identified forms or anonymous email accounts. Comments can be submitted by email to the conference organiser (nealhaddaway@gmail.com), to a member of the conference organising team (see Teams), or using this anonymous form: https://forms.gle/Q5SwsBJmnQevZAZp7.

THE EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS HACKATHON

Evidence Synthesis Hackathon (ESH)

The Evidence Synthesis Hackathon series was founded in 2017 by Martin Westgate and Neal Haddaway to drive progress in technology for evidence synthesis. Our mission is to: support the development, testing and promotion of new software and workflows; build networks and capacity among researchers, practitioners and developers; advocate for open synthesis.