There are no fees associated with becoming an Affiliated Group. In return for your agreement to meet certain KPIs over the course of your five-year agreement (namely the publication of three systematic reviews or implementation reports in the JBI Database of Systematic reviews and Implementation Reports - JBI’s Journal) we provide complimentary access to JBI’s full suite of tools and resources for the Group Convenor and up to 10 core staff members. 

All of the terms and conditions associated with membership are detailed in the JBI Collaboration Handbook.

A minimum of three people that have completed JBI CSRTP or EBCFP are required to start an Affiliated Group as the core team. However, it is advisable that you recruit others, even students, to collaborate with as you grow to meet the KPIs of being an Affiliated Group.

Full-time equivalent (FTE) is a unit that indicates the workload of an employed person in a way that makes workloads comparable across various contexts. FTE is often used to measure an employee’s involvement in a project or activity. An FTE of 1.0 is equivalent to a full-time worker while an FTE of 0.5 signals half of a full work load. This concept is used to convert the hours worked by several part-time employees into the hours worked by full-time employees. JBI asks prospective Groups to project the FTE capacity of their Core Staff members to ensure that a prospective Group has adequate human resource, and support within their host institution, to undertake JBI activity.

The relevant authority of your host institution is responsible for signing the Collaborating Entity Legal Agreement i.e. University/Faculty Dean, Legal representative, Hospital/Department Director etc.

As an Affiliated Group you are only expected to focus on Core Activities within the JBC Activity Matrix. The KPIs for maintaining Affiliated Group membership include at least three JBI Systematic Reviews or Implementation Reports accepted for publication in the JBISIR by the end of your five-year Collaborating Entity Legal Agreement (as detailed in the JBI Collaboration Handbook.)

Affiliated Groups are welcome to conduct Elective activities, particularly if they wish to progress to becoming a Centre of Excellence, however it is not mandatory.

Yes, JBI recognises that most Collaborating Entities are conducting JBI activity in addition to their substantive roles, and that it can take some time to understand and become familiar with JBI policies, procedures, methodology, processes etc. For this reason, Affiliated Group Legal Agreements are for a five-year term, with the first two years anticipated to be for establishment. Centres of Excellence are expected to publish three Systematic Reviews/Implementation Reports in three years in addition to completing Elective activities, whereas Affiliated Groups are expected to publish three Systematic Reviews/Implementation Reports in five years, with no additional activity required.

Any Systematic Reviews that are accepted for publication prior to the Effective Start Date of your Collaborating Entity Legal Agreement will unfortunately not be counted as output for your Group, as this is outside the scope of a signed Agreement. However, any reviews that have been submitted to the JBISRIR but are still being processed/reviewed/re-submitted etc. will be eligible to be counted towards your Entity as long as the acceptance date of the Systematic Review is after the Effective Start Date of your Collaborating Entity Legal Agreement.  

Yes, in order to receive points for a JBI Systematic Review or Implementation Report published in the JBISRIR OR another peer-reviewed journal, you must include your full Entity name as an author affiliation, including the JBI addendum i.e. 'The Centre for Chronic Disease Management: A Joanna Briggs Institute Affiliated Group'.

Without this author affiliation, your Group will not be eligible to receive points for any of the publication-related activities within the JBC Activity Matrix. For further information and guidelines for relevant JBC Matrix activities, please refer to the JBI Collaboration Handbook.

The JBI EBP Database available via JBI's Commercial Partner OvidSP (Wolters Kluwer Health) covers a wide range of medical, nursing, and health science specialties and includes a unique suite of information that’s been analysed, appraised, and prepared by expert reviewers at JBI so that health professionals can integrate the world’s best evidence into practice. The complete evidence-based practice content suite includes:

• Evidence Summaries 
• Evidence–based Recommended Practices 
• Best Practice Information Sheets
• JBI EBP Tools (SUMARI & PACES)

JBI Affiliated Groups receive access to the above tools and resources via special user access to JBI's CONnECT+ platform. See Collaborating Entity Access to JBI EBP Resources.

Entities will receive an outlook calendar meeting request for the JBIC CoD Teleconference (April) in January of each year, and the corresponding Agenda/Papers at least two weeks prior to the meeting.

The date of the face-to-face JBIC CoD Meeting (Oct-Nov), including the subsequent Colloquium/Conference/Symposium, will be communicated at least one year in advance to allow Entities to plan for travel accordingly. These dates will be communicated via email and will also be available on the JBC Key Dates & Events Calendar. An Agenda and Papers will be emailed to Entities at least three weeks prior to the meeting.

Please refer to the JBIC Collaborating Entity Staff Administration Policy for definitions.