Covid Collective

The Covid Collective research platform offers rapid social science research to inform decision-making on some of the most pressing development challenges related to Covid-19.

The global Covid-19 pandemic is an unprecedented crisis requiring rapid generation of policy-relevant evidence to inform decision-making as we move from crisis to recovery phase and beyond.

Objectives

• Co-generation of research and evidence on Covid-19 related development challenges.
• Advocate for Covid Collective research and evidence to inform policy and practice regarding the response to the pandemic.
• Facilitate collaboration, collective action and mutual learning.
• Promote the integration of social science to catalyse transformative action in response to Covid-19.

The Covid Collective research platform brings together the expertise of global partner organisations, coordinated by the Institute of Development Studies. The research portfolio and work of the collective is overseen by an FCDO and IDS Executive Committee supported by an Advisory Group made up of representation‚ÄØfrom partner institutions‚ÄØto‚ÄØhelp guide the evolution of the collective.

Background

The current global pandemic of Covid-19 is a health crisis of massive proportions. As of 25 July 2022, there have been over 500 million confirmed cases of Covid-19, including over 6 million deaths (WHO Covid-19 dashboard, accessed 25/4/2022).

It continues to be an unprecedented crisis for development with highly uncertain outcomes – affecting and requiring responses from all countries, albeit in different ways and to different challenges. There is a growing need to look beyond the pandemic towards increasingly uncertain futures shaped by an array of drivers (conflict, climate change, economic precarities) that intersect with health challenges.