Living evidence syntheses are continually updated, systematically appraised summaries of research evidence. These may include living systematic reviews, living evidence briefs or living evidence‐based guidelines. Australia has implemented living evidence for several key clinical concerns; however, the routine implementation of living evidence in health policy is nascent and knowledge gaps remain on how to best do this. The authors argue realising this opportunity requires a national research agenda, because without one, we are likely to forego many potential benefits and positive health system impacts of living evidence.

Compared with non‐living approaches, which are onerous to produce and become rapidly out of date, living evidence syntheses provide health system decision makers with highly reliable and, where appropriate, contextualised summaries of evidence as evidence emerges in near real‐time. This revolutionary method of rapid evidence gathering, appraisal and synthesis, known as living evidence, has become feasible with methodological and technological advances in the past five to ten years.