This article is number 17 in a series of 21 articles on tools for evidence-informed health policymaking. Policy briefs are a relatively new approach to packaging research evidence for policymakers. In a policy brief, the policy issue is taken as the starting point rather than the research evidence that has been produced or identified. Once an issue is prioritised, the focus then turns to mobilising the full range of research evidence relevant to the various features of the issue. Drawing on available systematic reviews makes the process of evidence mobilisation feasible in a way that would not otherwise be possible if individual relevant studies had to be identified and synthesised for every feature of the issues under consideration.