Developing NICE guidelines: the manual

Committee

The advisory group that considers the evidence and develops the recommendations, taking into account the views of stakeholders. NICE has standing committees (which work on multiple guidelines) and topic-specific committees (which are put together for a single guideline topic or to work on multiple guidelines within a topic area). Members include practitioners and professionals (both specialists and generalists, and academics), care providers and commissioners, people using health and care services, or their family members or carers, or people from communities affected by the guideline.

Committee chair

A member of the committee who leads committee meetings, and ensures that the committee keeps to the scope of the guideline, works collaboratively and adheres to NICE's equality policy and principles on social value judgements. The chair completes the equality impact assessment with the topic delivery team at scoping and final guideline stages, approves the draft guideline for consultation, and advises the topic delivery team on responses to comments from registered stakeholders.

Consultation table

A table of all the comments received by NICE during consultation on a scope or draft guideline. The committee considers the comments received, and the topic delivery team then responds to the comments in the table.

Co-opted members

An expert invited to 1 or more meetings to contribute to formulating recommendations in a specific part of the guideline. They take part fully in discussions, but do not have voting rights or count towards quorum. Co‑opted members can include people with expertise in user, carer or community experience and views, as well as those with professional or practitioner expertise.

Core members (standing committee)

The core members of a standing committee include at least 1 practitioner and 1 lay member, and may include an economist. A standing committee usually has between 6 and 12 core members. They serve for an initial period of up to 3 years and work on all guidelines developed by the committee during that period.

Evidence review

Identifying and reviewing the evidence, and undertaking economic analyses:

Expert witness

An expert invited to attend a committee meeting to provide evidence from their experience and specific expertise. Expert witnesses answer questions from committee members and may be invited to present evidence in the form of expert testimony, which is published on the NICE website when the guideline is published. Expert witnesses are not members of the committee. They have expert knowledge of 1 or more of the following areas: experience and views of practitioners; people using services; carers or the community and voluntary sector; government and policy; or research and practice.

Key issues

Key issues are included in the scope of a guideline and broadly define aspects of care or service provision for which most advice is needed.

Practitioner

A healthcare, social care or public health worker.

Quality assurance

NICE staff carry out quality assurance of the guideline, including reviews of the evidence and any economic analysis, to ensure that it is up‑to‑date, credible, robust and relevant. See the section on who is involved.

Quality assurance of guideline surveillance reflects quality assurance of guideline development. The NICE associate director – surveillance is responsible for ensuring that processes are followed and that decisions to update or not update guidelines are robust and fit for approval by NICE's guidance executive.

Recommendations

Specific advice in NICE guidelines on the care and services that are suitable for most people with a specific condition or need, or for particular groups or people in particular circumstances (for example, when being discharged from hospital). Recommendations may also cover ways to promote good health or prevent ill health, or how organisations and partnerships can improve the quality of care and services.

Review questions

Review questions guide a systematic review of the literature. They address only the key issues and questions covered in the scope of the guideline, and will usually be structured with a framework (for example, using PICO or SPICE).

Standing committee

A committee consisting of core members who work on multiple guidelines. Topic expert members are brought in to work on specific guidelines.

Surveillance report

A report that summarises the evidence and intelligence identified through the surveillance process and explains the reasons for updating or not.

Topic adviser (topic-specific committee)

A member of the committee who also works closely with the topic delivery team to provide topic-specific support.

Topic delivery team

The team responsible for scoping the guideline, identifying and reviewing the evidence, undertaking economic analyses, supporting the committee and writing the guideline in light of the committee's discussions and decisions. The team also includes administrators, coordinators and project managers who provide administrative and management support to the committee, plan and schedule the work, arrange meetings, and liaise with stakeholders, and all other people and organisations contributing to guideline development.

Topic expert members (of a standing committee)

Experts on the topic of a guideline who join a standing committee to work on that guideline. They may include lay members, practitioners, providers and commissioners.

Topic-specific committee

A committee consisting of members appointed for the development of a specific guideline or to work on multiple guidelines within a topic area.