Version Management Committee #2

The Version Management Committee (VMC) of the EuroQol Research Foundation is responsible for the quality assurance of EuroQol instruments and plays a key role in the development of new products. This is a considerable task as there are versions available in more than 120 countries and 100 languages. The availability of such a large number of rigorously translated language versions provides significant added value to EuroQol instrument users by facilitating its use in a wide range of settings and allowing for multi-country and within-country multi-language studies. The use of a translation protocol, based on recommended international guidelines and strict quality control measures, ensures congruence between language versions in terms of content and layout and means that results obtained with those versions can be compared and aggregated.

The VMC project management team at the EuroQol Office supports the VMC and manages the operational side of the translation work and the communication with users.

The VMC’s remit includes:

• organising and overseeing translations and adaptations of EQ-5D into other languages using a rigorous translation process based on internationally accepted guidelines
• quality control and auditing of translated language versions
• developing and updating translation methodologies and documents such as Translation Guidelines and Definition of Concepts to reflect international trends
• identifying gaps with regard to different modes of administration based on feedback received during the translation process and adapting existing versions to meet new needs as necessary
• contributing to design and content of new versions and formats, particularly through assessing the translatability of new content
• collaborating when relevant with other working groups of the EuroQol Research Foundation
• project management
• producing and updating template versions of key questionnaires and formats
• vetting potential translation suppliers
• archiving and tracking of language versions of the questionnaire in all formats
• overseeing production of translation certificates
• quality control of screenshots for electronic versions