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National Center for Injury Prevention and Control

Division of Violence Prevention

The Evidence Project Overview

With increasing emphasis being placed on the importance of evidence in guiding prevention efforts, defining what 

constitutes “evidence” is more important than ever. Evidence is crucial in informing and facilitating the adoption, 

uptake, and implementation of prevention programs, practices, and policies in community settings. While the 

importance of evidence is recognized by researchers, practitioners, and decision makers,1 there is debate about what 

constitutes evidence.2,3

The Evidence Project (a project of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division of Violence Prevention) 

proposes a comprehensive framework for understanding evidence and evidence-based decision making that includes 

three types of evidence (best available research evidence, contextual evidence, and experiential evidence- described 

below). 

The Evidence Project’s comprehensive framework defines evidence as information or facts that are systematically 

obtained (i.e., obtained in a manner that is replicable, observable, credible and verifiable) for use in making 

decisions).2,3

This framework incorporates three types of evidence for consideration in decision-making:

(1) Best Available Research Evidence – is information derived from scientific inquiry that assists in determining 

whether or not a prevention program, practice, or policy is actually achieving its intended outcomes. 

Meaning, did it do what it was supposed to do? The more rigorous the evaluation in its research design, (e.g., 

randomized control trials, quasi-experimental designs with matched comparison groups), its implementation 

(e.g., fidelity), and the extent to which it has been replicated in different settings and with different 

populations, the more compelling the research evidence, indicating whether or not a program, practice, or 

policy is effectively preventing violence. Best available research evidence can also help to determine whether 

or not a prevention strategy is harmful.

(2) Contextual Evidence - is a collection of measurable factors in the community that may impact the success 

of a prevention strategy (e.g., community history, organizational capacity, social norms, etc.). The role that 

contextual evidence plays in the evidence-based decision making process is to provide information to help 

determine whether a prevention strategy is likely to be acceptable, feasible, and useful in a local setting. 

Contextual evidence can be gathered from variety of local data sources and offers a “snapshot” of measurable 

community characteristics that may impact a particular decision. Some examples of data sources and 

methods for collecting contextual evidence include: census data, local administrative data (hospital, school, 

and law enforcement), community needs/assets assessments, surveys, and focus groups/interviews.

(3) Experiential Evidence - is the collective experience and expertise of those who have practiced or lived in a 

particular setting. It also includes the knowledge of subject matter experts. These insights, understandings, 

skills, and expertise are accumulated over time and are often referred to as intuitive or tacit knowledge. 

Experiential evidence is systematically gathered from multiple stakeholders who are familiar with a variety 

of key aspects about populations in specific settings who have knowledge about the community in which 

a prevention strategy is to be implemented (i.e., knowledge about what has/has not worked previously in a 

specific setting with particular populations; insight on potential implementation challenges; insight regarding 

the needs and challenges of the community and those who live in it). Experiential evidence provides 

distinctive guidance in the form of real world experience. Some examples of data sources and methods for 

eliciting experiential evidence include: reflective questions, communities of practice, expert panels, team 

decision making, and other consensus processes.
The Evidence Project Overview

1-800-CDC-INFO (232-4636) • cdcinfo@cdc.gov • www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention

For more information about the Evidence Project, please contact Sally Thigpen at sthigpen@cdc.gov. 

All three of these types of evidence (best 

available research evidence, contextual 

evidence, and experiential evidence) have 

been recognized as being crucial to the 

success of prevention programs, practices, 

and policies for many behavioral health 

problems, including violence.1,4,5 Evidencebased decision making occurs when the best 

available research evidence is combined 

with the contextual and experiential 

evidence from community data and fieldbased expertise.

Currently, the Evidence Project is in the 

process of developing interactive tools for 

practitioners and policy makers to support 

the integration of all three forms of evidence 

in prevention decisions. These interactive 

tools will be made available in the spring/

summer of 2013 and will be housed on the 

CDC’s Division of Violence Prevention’s online 

training portal at: www.vetoviolence.org.

A guide to understanding best available research evidence (Understanding Evidence - Part 1 Best 

Available Research Evidence: A Guide to the Continuum of Evidence of Effectiveness) is available for download 

at www.cdc.gov/ViolencePrevention/pdf/Understanding_Evidence-a.pdf. Similar guides for contextual and 

experiential evidence will also be developed and available in the spring/summer of 2013. 

____________________

1 Institute of Medicine- Committee on Quality of Health Care in America. (2001). Crossing the quality chasm: A 

new health system for the 21st century. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.

2 Rycroft-Malone, J.,Seers, K., Titchen, A., Kitson, A., Harvey, G., & McCormack, B. (2004). What counts as evidence 

in evidence-based practice? Journal of Advanced Nursing, 47, 81-90.

3 Brownson, R. C., Fielding, J. E., & Maylahn, C. A. (2009). Evidence-Based Public Health: A Fundamental 

Concept for Public Health Practice. Annual Review of Public Health, 30, 175-201. doi: DOI 10.1146/annurev.

publhealth.031308.100134

4 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration- National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs 

and Practices. (2008). What is Evidence-Based? Retrieved March 23, 2010 from http://www.nrepp.samhsa.gov/

about-evidence.asp

5 American Psychological Association ( 2005). Report of the 2005 Presidential Task Force on Evidence-Based 

Practice. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Best Available 

Research 

Evidence

Contextual

Evidence

Experiential

Evidence

Evidence Based

Decision-Making

A Framework for Thinking About Evidence