TACKLING COVID-19

ALLEA ACADEMIES’ ACTIVITIES

Our member academies play a key role in finding solutions to the problems created by the COVID-19 pandemic by providing their expertise in medical and epidemiological sciences but also on the social and economic effects of the pandemic. ALLEA has compiled a series of  resources, which were shared by its members. This list is not exhaustive, if you would like to know more on what individual Academies are doing on this topic, see their websites.

  • Hungarian Academy of Sciences’ recommendation on the management of the COVID-19 epidemic.
  • Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts & Sciences’s symposium on ‘the new Coronavirus’ – video footage.
  • The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences’summary webpage (in SE) and its expert group to take stock of the state of knowledge about the Sars-CoV-2 virus, Covid-19 disease and its spread in society (in SE).
  • National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine’s information on its working group on COVID-19 spread, the development of Ukrainian test for diagnostics and COVID-19 – related projects (in UK).

PARTNER & NETWORK ACTIVITIES

  • Position on the Responsibility of Research Ethics Committees during the COVID-19 Pandemic

In times of crisis and uncertainty reliable science is more important than ever. The COVID-19 pandemic is a global challenge and international efforts and swift exchange of reliable data and information are needed to combat it. People turn to scientists for advice and guidance so it is all the more important for academies of sciences to inform the public and to fulfil their role towards society.

ALLEA has expanded its activities to address the challenges ahead. Some of our projects were reoriented to take into account new aspects resulting from the pandemic, others focused on science communications and combatting science disinformation from their very beginning but have included COVID-19 as  their primary area of interest.

Fact or fake

This project aims at tackling science disinformation. The initiative will identify and discuss the root causes leading to science-averse attitudes in European countries, particularly focusing on disinformation campaigns on Covid-19, climate change, and vaccinations. Learn more

International health data transfer​

ALLEA cooperates with EASAC & FEAM on this topic, which became even more important at the times of pandemic. This project aims to illustrate the value of multinational medical research; compare the potential of different solutions for ensuring sufficient transfer of health data outside of the EEA; inform the EU Institutions in the forthcoming evaluation of the GDPR & exemplify how data sharing adds value to EU research and its translation to policy, innovation & practice. Learn more

PERITIA

PERITIA is an EU-funded research project exploring the conditions under which people trust scientific expertise used in public policy. The project gathers contributions from its team and partners on current debates on Covid-19 and organises events to present its latest research on the topic. Check out the webinar “Who to trust on Covid-19? When science advice gets ‘dirty’ in the political mud” and a recent workshop on the social indicators of trust in expertise during this pandemic. Learn more

SAPEA

SAPEA is part of the European Commission’s Scientific Advice Mechanism. Together with the Group of Chief Scientific Advisors, SAPEA provides independent scientific advice to European Commissioners to support their decision-making. To date, SAPEA organised webinars on science advice in times of a crisis and a transition towards a sustainable food system in Europe in view of the current pandemic. SAPEA also collected practical and technical advice about how to adapt outreach and communications activities for the foreseeable future. Learn more