  The public policy cycle requires increasingly the use of evidence by policy
makers. Evidence Gap Maps (EGMs) are a relatively new methodology that helps
identify, process, and visualize the vast amounts of studies representing a
rich source of evidence for better policy making. This document performs a
methodological review of EGMs and presents the development of a working
integrated system that automates several critical steps of EGM creation by
means of applied computational and statistical methods. Above all, the proposed
system encompasses all major steps of EGM creation in one place, namely
inclusion criteria determination, processing of information, analysis, and
user-friendly communication of synthesized relevant evidence. This tool
represents a critical milestone in the efforts of implementing cutting-edge
computational methods in usable systems. The contribution of the document is
two-fold. First, it presents the critical importance of EGMs in the public
policy cycle; second, it justifies and explains the development of a usable
tool that encompasses the methodological phases of creation of EGMs, while
automating most time-consuming stages of the process. The overarching goal is
the better and faster information communication to relevant actors like policy
makers, thus promoting well-being through better and more efficient
interventions based on more evidence-driven policy making.
