2016 has marked a special year for the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI).

The rapid growth of hotspots and centers of JBI activity internationally have fundamentally been driven by individuals and groups aligned with the mission of the JBI and the actionable model by which the Institute's vision can be achieved. The core programs of synthesis science, transfer science and implementation science all started from humble beginnings. Synthesis science was initially rooted in methods similar to those employed in Cochrane reviews of effects, those of the Centers of Reviews and Dissemination in the UK and the emergent meta-aggregative synthesis.1,2 Transfer science had its beginnings in JBI's Clinical Information Service, education programs and implementation science initiatives with the advent of the Practical Application of Clinical Evidence System (JBI PACES).2

Since these beginnings, the JBI has established and designed its programs in response to the demands of its constituents. Each JBI program has evolved into the format and structure we recognize today: multiple methodologies and methods for synthesis and evidence based resources, summaries and tools to inform and facilitate nursing, and medical and allied health practice at the point of care across the world. The JBI model helps to overcome the most difficult step in evidence based health care - the use of evidence in practice and the measurement of its impact. The evolution and development across these programs has not been restricted to simply the size of each program, but also the theoretical and scientific basis for each. Despite this proliferation of theory, methods and technology necessary in an environment of academic healthcare where the majority of our groups are based, the underlying principle - to provide care and improve health and quality of life for people, which is at the core of the JBI vision - has not been eroded by the single minded pursuit of knowledge and over investment in the development of methodological idiosyncrasies.

A remarkable feat of the JBI is that the model that has been devised, modified and renewed over 20 years3,4 has found a home either in its entirety, or in part, across every continent around the globe, and across all settings and socioeconomic locations (from clinics in Ghana and Kenya, to acute care facilities in South Korea and the USA), and has created a positive impact in each.

The JBI centers and groups are spread across all of the world's continents, with the exception of Antarctica.5 The global JBI community is organized into five regions, aligned by geographical proximity. In this special series of editorials to celebrate 20 years of the JBI, a representative of each of these regions reflects on past achievements, innovations and future directions. The founder of JBI, Emeritus Professor Alan Pearson, also provides his reflection on the development of meta-aggregative qualitative synthesis and food for thought regarding the lack of acknowledgement of the JBI and its work in the field of evidence synthesis, transfer and implementation. I hope you enjoy this special showcase series to herald an exceptional year in the history of the JBI.

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