Who can be a Cochrane member?
Cochrane’s membership scheme was launched in 2017. All existing contributors to Cochrane were offered membership at this time.
Anyone interested in Cochrane’s work can now sign up to Join Cochrane. Your journey begins as a supporter with a Cochrane account. You can graduate from supporter to member status based on your contributions to Cochrane’s work.
People who work for Cochrane are eligible for membership for the duration of their employment. Please see ‘Which roles grant Cochrane membership?’
Every member needs to agree to our terms and conditions of membership. You must also confirm that do you not work for a pharmaceutical or medical device company, for conflict of interest reasons.
How do I become a Cochrane member?
Membership is achieved by contributing to Cochrane’s work in a sustained and substantive way. Please see ‘Which tasks earn Cochrane membership?’
As you contribute to Cochrane, you earn membership points. If you earn over 1,000 points within 12 months, this will grant one year’s membership. You will be offered membership automatically – look out for an email asking you to activate your membership. It can take up to 10 working days from reaching the points threshold to receive your activation email.
As you continue to contribute on an ongoing basis, your membership will also be renewed automatically.
Supporters can do a combination of activities to gain membership. For example, if you write a blog post and complete three tasks in TaskExchange within 12 months, you will earn 1,100 points and be granted 1 year’s membership. If you publish a review, you will earn 5,000 points and be entitled to a 5-year membership.
Which tasks earn Cochrane membership?
The table below gives examples of the kind of contributions that count towards membership. Please see Contribution types and membership points for a complete list.
| Task | Points per task |
|---|---|
| Publish a Cochrane protocol | 3000 |
| Publish a Cochrane review or review update | 5000 |
| Peer review of a Cochrane protocol or review | 500 |
| Consumer peer review of a Cochrane protocol or review | 500 |
| Attend Cochrane events (colloquium) | 500 |
| Cochrane Crowd record screening | 1 point per study record screened |
| Student internship | 1000 |
| TaskExchange task e.g. data extraction | 200 |
| Lead training workshops, seminars or presentations | 500 |
| Translation via Memsource | 1 point per 2 words translated |
We have tried to include as many contribution types as possible, but our supporters’ contributions are so wide and varied that, inevitably, there will be some we have missed.
If you think that you, or someone you work with, has made a substantial but as yet unrewarded contribution to Cochrane, please let us know by contacting membership@cochrane.org.
Which roles grant Cochrane membership?
People working for Cochrane in certain roles will automatically qualify for membership while they are in post. This includes:
- Board and Council members
- Group staff of all Cochrane Groups and Networks
- Editors of Cochrane groups
- Translation project managers
- Executive group members
- Methods group convenors
- Members of Scientific committees, Handbook editorial teams, Funding Arbiter panel
- Central Executive Team members
If you work for Cochrane and are not yet a member, please contact membership@cochrane.org.
How long will my membership last?
Membership is time limited. If you continue to contribute to Cochrane on an ongoing basis, your membership will be renewed automatically.
Membership is divided into three mechanisms:
- Rolling annual membership for task-based activities
- 3-year or 5-year membership terms for authors of published contributions
- Role-based membership for as long as someone holds certain roles
Membership is not cumulative. If publishing a review provides you with 5 years of membership, publishing a subsequent review 2 years later will initiate the start of a new 5-year term, so that in total you receive 7 years (not 10 years) of membership.
If a person’s membership term expires, and they have made no further contribution to Cochrane, their membership will lapse, and they will become a supporter again.