Activities from Science Europe Members
Aside from launching research calls, Science Europe's Member Organisations are also involved in several other activities to address the COVID-19 pandemic.
Examples of these include running research projects directly, openly sharing research data and facilities, and providing information to the public. An overview of such initiatives is below.
The overview below is categorised according to a number of different activity types:
Research Projects and Collaboration Information Portals Data and Publication Sharing Initiatives Other Initiatives
Research Projects and Collaborations
- COVID-19-related funded research projects
German Research Foundation (Germany)
During the coronavirus pandemic, numerous DFG-funded projects have become a focus of public attention due to their topic areas. These include projects that relate directly to coronaviruses, projects investigating the basic principles of pathogens and diseases and their pandemic potential, and those concerned with the impacts of pandemics. This page provides an overview of DFG-funded projects in which researchers are working to understand the genetic, biological, medical, environmental, and also socioeconomic factors. - National Study of SARS-CoV2 sero-Epidemiology in Spain (ENE-COVID19)
Institute of Health Carlos III (Spain)
ENE-COVID19 is a nation-wide comprehensive population-based longitudinal study on seroepidemiology of COVID-19 in Spain. It aims to estimate the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in the Spanish population by determining the presence of antibodies against the virus, and to study its temporal evolution. It has been carried out by the National Epidemiology Centre. - COvid-19 National survey for assessing VIral spread by Non-affected CarriErs (CON-VINCE)
National Research Fund (Luxembourg)
CON-VINCE is a national project aiming to evaluate the dynamics of the spread of the COVID-19 disease within the Luxembourgish population. The FNR supports the project with €1.4 million. - Luxembourg cohort of positive patients for COVID-19 (Predi-COVID)
National Research Fund (Luxembourg)
The stratification study 'Predi-COVID' aims to identify important risk factors and biomarkers associated with COVID-19 severity and long-term health consequences of the disease in Luxembourg. The FNR supports the study with €1.85 million. - COVID-19 Centre of Excellence
Science Foundation Ireland
The Irish government have allocated €4.8 million of funding through Science Foundation Ireland for the setup of a COVID-19 centre of excellence, to be hosted by Trinity College Dublin. This research partnership will seek to understand why some people are more susceptible to COVID-19 than others and focus on the design of vaccines and novel treatment approaches. - Inter-Disciplinary Thematic Platform for Global Health (in Spanish)
Spanish National Research Council
To address the coronavirus pandemic, CSIC has created the Inter-Disciplinary Thematic Platform for Global Health and has funded 12 research projects with a major donation from the MAPFRE Foundation. Dr. Anna Planas from IIBB is leading one of these projects that intends to identify the individual risk of developing severe forms of COVID-19 and discover possible treatments. This study will be carried out in collaboration with Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, IDIBAPS, ISGlobal, Hospital de Sant Pau and several CSIC institutes of Valencia (IBV), Madrid (CNB), Granada (IPBLN), Santander (IFCA) and Galicia (CESGA). - CSIC research project on COVID-19 containment measures (in Spanish)
Spanish National Research Council
This project by the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) uses computing and data science techniques to see how the containment measures that have been taken to stop the spread of COVID-19 are effective. The results are going to be essential to improve social distancing strategies taken in future outbreaks of this disease or others. - National research programme on viruses and pandemics (under development)
Swedish Research Council
VR is tasked to coordinate a national research programme on viruses and pandemics, contributing to new knowledge within several disciplines, e.g. viral diseases, transmission, development of medicine, vaccines and treatment, societal/economic effects. Funds are distributed in separate calls. - COVID-19 Genomics UK Consortium
UK Research and Innovation
Supported by the UK Government, NHS, Public Health England, UKRI, and Wellcome, this consortium will enable clinicians and public health teams to rapidly investigate clusters of cases in hospitals, care homes and the community, to understand how the virus is spread and implement appropriate infection control measures. - UKRI funding for the development of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine
UK Research and Innovation
Building on decades of UKRI (through different Research Council funding mechanisms) funded research, UKRI provided further funding to the Oxford COVID-19 vaccine team to develop a COVID-19 vaccine which began clinical trials in April 2020 and has since been approved for global vaccination rollout.
Information Portals
- Covid Platform - Wallonia and Brussels against Covid-19
Fund for Scientific Research - FNRS (Belgium)
Since the beginning of the health crisis, many research projects and business initiatives have been rapidly set up in Wallonia and Brussels to combat the COVID-19 virus and its consequences on health, society and the economy. Numerous skills and expertise in all fields of science have been associated with them. At the initiative of the Royal Academy of Medicine and the Royal Academy of Sciences, Letters and Fine Arts, supported by the Universities of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, the FNRS has drawn up an inventory of these initiatives. - COVID-19 in Spain
Institute of Health Carlos III (Spain)
Compilation of data gathered by the National Network of Epidemiological Surveillance (RENAVE). It includes periodic update of the COVID-19 situation in Spain with geographical information and indicators of the evolution of the pandemic, detailed information about the clinical evolution and severity of the COVID-19 patients, studies related with the behaviour and attitudes of the population related to COVID-19 and mortality and morbidity data. - Registro ISCIII-COVID-19
Institute of Health Carlos III (Spain)
This register brings together information gathered more than 70 funded projects from the FONDO ISCIII-COVID, and contains more than 200 harmonised variables and 100,000 records combining epidemiological information, lifestyles, clinical records, omics and image data. This registry will be linked to the COVID-19 Data Platform. - COVID-19 research project registry
Swiss National Science Foundation
This project database offers an overview of research on COVID-19 funded by the SNSF, by Innosuisse, or within the European Framework programme Horizon 2020 with Swiss participation.
- UKRI Coronavirus Hub
UK Research and Innovation
The UKRI Coronavirus Hub gives you the latest information on the vital work of UKRI and our community in response to the crisis, what grants and awards we have made, and our continuing call to fund your ideas to limit the outbreak and protect life. - Coronavirus – The Science Explained
UK Research and Innovation
Coronavirus: the science explained is a UKRI website that lays out the evidence and the facts about the virus, the disease, the epidemic, and its control. The website will be regularly updated with the latest science information behind the coronavirus outbreak.
Data and Publication Sharing Initiatives
- Open Science Action Plan
French National Research Agency
In addition to the Open Science obligations required for all PI, ANR commits to make all Covid-19 research data and results immediately available. - Mandatory COVID-19 Open Data Access through HRB Open Research
Health Research Board, Irish Research Council
The Health Research Board (HRB) and Irish Research Council (IRC) have made it a mandatory requirement for all projects funded through their Rapid Response Call to publish their protocols and findings in real time on the HRB Open Research publishing platform. - COVID-19 Guide
Institute of Health Carlos III (Spain)
Compilation of resources, information and news regarding COVID-19. It is aimed to both the general public (including links and information about vaccines, national and regional measures, and fake news) and to healthcare professionals (including links and information about clinical guides, funding opportunities, and research articles). - MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis: Covid-19 reports
UK Research and Innovation
Since the emergence of COVID-19 in December 2019, the MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis (a UKRI Institute) at Imperial College COVID-19 Response Team has been sharing research findings on the developing pandemic. This webpage page provides all publicly published online reports. - Wellcome call for 'Sharing research data and findings relevant to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak'
Wellcome has issued a statement calling on researchers, journals, and funders to openly and rapidly share research data to ensure that research findings and data relevant to this outbreak can inform the public health response and help save lives. Multiple Science Europe Member Organisations have signed Wellcome's statement.
Other Initiatives
- COVID-19 measures
Czech Science Foundation
The Presidium of the Czech Science Foundation has approved a number of measures in response to the ever-changing pandemic situation and various restrictions. The goal of these measures is to help Investigators and their teams to handle the situation. Similar to last year, the changes involve more flexibility in the use of the grant funds, such as the eligibility of telecommunication and computer equipment, or the costs of childcare. We have expanded the options to change workloads and modify project budgets,” says GACR President, Prof. RNDr. Jaroslav Koča, DrSc., adding: “I trust that Investigators of projects to be completed this year will appreciate a six-month extension, which we have already approved. We are also helping applicants by extending the project proposal submission deadline.”
- Science 4 COVID-19
Foundation for Science and Technology
Open and inclusive call for ideas and the organisation of task forces to collect and mobilize ideas from science and innovation players, by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) and the Agency for Clinical Research and Biomedical Innovation in close co-operation with public and private research performing organisations. - Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI)
National Research Fund (Luxembourg)
Luxembourg participation of €0.8 million to CEPI.
- Funding reserve-listed applicants
Swedish Research Council
The Swedish Research Council has funded reserve-listed applicants from a 2020 call on consolidator grants on viruses and virus-caused disease conditions. Total budget 8 million SEK.
- Apply to switch your existing funding to COVID-19 priority areas
UK Research and Innovation
UKRI has put in place a process to allow researchers to repurpose existing UKRI standard grants to address COVID-19 research priorities. - Development of Parenting during COVID-19 pamphlette
UK Research and Innovation
UKRI’s GCRF Accelerating Achievement for Africa’s Adolescents Hub joined forces with the WHO and UNICEF to produce evidence-based tips for parents to talk about COVID-19 including planning one-on-one time, staying positive, creating a daily routine, avoiding bad behaviour and managing stress. - UKRI support for thematic consortia projects to address COVID-19
UK Research and Innovation
UKRI provided funding support in partnership with other UK research and innovation funders to support several collaborative Research and Innovation activities to address topics of concern arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. These include the ACCORD, RECOVERY and COG-UK consortia.