Unpacking core components for policy design: A comparison of synthesis approaches

Abstract Under the banner of evidence‐based policy, evidence reviews—summaries of existing studies on an intervention—have become an established form of policy analysis. Whereas evidence reviews have typically focused on studies of an intervention as delivered, interest is growing in examining the specific elements that comprise the intervention and that contribute to its success—broadly referred to as its core components . Understanding the core components of interventions allows policymakers to identify with greater precision what works, in which contexts, and for which populations. With the aim toward advancing core components analysis for policy design, this Research Note describes and compares four synthesis approaches for identifying core components in the context of evidence reviews: the distillation and matching model, meta‐regression, framework synthesis, and qualitative comparative analysis. The article then reflects on how to advance core components analysis in evidence reviews to better inform policy design and the policymaking process.