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BILL SILVERMAN PRIZE

Prize Presentation: The Cochrane Collaboration Annual General Meetings, Monday 12 Oct 09, 16:00-17:30h

William Silverman, MD William (Bill) Silverman (1924-2004) was one of the founders of American neonatal medicine. He was honoured repeatedly as one of the pioneers in his specialty; however, he often evoked somewhat contradictory responses amongst his colleagues because he was in the habit of raising troubling questions about the scientific basis and ethics of his and their practices.

Like many of the people who have helped to establish The Cochrane Collaboration, Bill Silverman could be regarded as a 'troublemaker'. As he reiterated frequently, however, criticism is a form of troublemaking that can help to drive progress. Furthermore, criticism should not be limited to examining the work of others, but should also include self-criticism.

Bill Silverman Prize The Bill Silverman Prize acknowledges explicitly the value of criticism of The Cochrane Collaboration, with a view to helping to improve its work, and thus achieve its aim of helping people make well-informed decisions about health care by providing the best possible evidence on the effects of healthcare interventions. The establishment of the Prize was approved by the Cochrane Collaboration Steering Group in 2007, and awarded for the first time in early 2008.

The Prize is offered annually and the authors of a piece of research published or presented in the preceding 12 months (July to June) will be eligible. The criteria for the Prize are that the publication or presentation evaluated any aspect of the preparation, maintenance or dissemination of Cochrane reviews or the work of The Cochrane Collaboration more generally, and:

• was of high quality;
• was accompanied by constructive suggestions on how the relevant aspects of the work of The Cochrane Collaboration could be improved; and
• has had, or is likely to have, a positive impact on the scientific quality, relevance and use of Cochrane reviews.

The prize comprises a cash award of US$1,000 and a certificate. The cash award goes to the corresponding author of the selected publication or presentation. The Prize Committee calls for nominations for the Prize in May. Nominations can be made by anyone, including the authors of the publication or presentation being nominated.

Bill Silverman Prize Committee The Prize Committee comprises five members, at least three of whom do not have an active role within any Cochrane entity (other than, possibly, as an author or referee of one or more Cochrane reviews). One of these people co-chairs the Committee; the other Co-Chair is someone with an active role within a Cochrane entity. Members of the Committee for 2009 are Cindy Farquhar (internal Co-Chair), Suzanne Hill (external Co-Chair), Ben Goldacre, Jean Slutsky, and Katharina Biester (2008 Prize recipient).

Prize recipient  2008 - Katharina Biester et al. High dropout rates in trials included in Cochrane reviews. Oral presentation at the 14th Cochrane Colloquium, Dublin, Ireland, October 2006.

For more information about the Prize and to view the list of previous recipients, please click here