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REA Toolkit

Planning an REA

REA stages - where contractors can help

It is possible to contract out the entire REA or only specific elements. Experts in REAs can be consulted before you start work, helping to decide whether an REA is suitable to answer the policy questions and suggesting how it may be able to answer it. A contractor can be brought in at the start of the REA to carry out the entire project or they can be brought in once the question has been formulated and the terms within it defined. Contractors can also be used to undertake specific parts of the REA, for example, to carry out the searching and collation of studies.

Individuals with specific expertise, such as librarians should be included in the REA, whether the work is contracted out or not. Specialists can also be used at specific points in the REA, such as carrying out meta-analysis at the synthesis stage.

An REA is not a strictly linear process but the diagram below illustrates the key stages where contractors and experts can become involved.

Key stages where contractors and experts can become involved

Contracting out an REA: advantages