BACKGROUND: Persistent high rates of maternal mortality and near miss remain a major problem in low-and middle income countries. In Brazil, this problem has being since late1980s when information and surveillance systems and access to improved healthcare services were strengthened. Such efforts led to a 51% reduction in maternal mortality rate (141 in 1990 and 68 deaths/100,000 born alive in 2010). Nevertheless, Brazil must improve to meet its Millennium Development Goal of 35 deaths by 2015. In 2011, the Brazilian government launched the “Stork Healthcare Network” (Rede Cegonha) to ensure women the right to reproductive planning, humanized care to pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum periods, and the right to children safe birth, healthy growth and development. The Department of Science and Technology of Brazilian Ministry of Health is linking Health Technology Assessment with the Evidence-Informed Policy Network (EVIPNet Brazil) to optimize implementation of Stork Network's programs and its improvement. OBJECTIVES: To describe EVIPNet Brazil's strategies to optimize the Stork Healthcare Network on maternal care by supporting the use of evidence and values in decision making in the Brazilian Health System (SUS). METHODS: AND RESULTS: EVIPNet Brazil developed two main short-term initiatives. First, it convened a workshop with key researchers and government officials to: 1) produce a policy brief of the best evidence on maternal mortality and near miss, and 2) foster exchange among different government units and academia. Second, it plans to organize national and regional deliberative dialogues with stakeholders as to embed decision makers' tacit knowledge and experiences into the policy brief, a crucial step towards moving evidence into action. CONCLUSIONS: Engaging key stakeholders and promoting evidence-informed policy making may lead Brazil to reduce maternal mortality and near miss rates to levels that are compatible to its current social and economic development. KEYWORDS: Maternal Mortality; Health systems; Systematic Review; Research Evidence