Strengthening the global effort on COVID-19 research

Research funders recognise that there is a need to coordinate COVID-19 research funding to prevent duplication and improve impact and that this needs to facilitate ongoing improved coordination for future infectious disease epidemics and pandemics.

Two research funder coordination groups, the UK Collaborative on Development Research (UKCDR) and the Global Research Collaboration for Infectious Disease Preparedness (GloPID-R), have agreed a set of principles to align research funders towards a coordinated effort for supporting high-quality research for the most pressing global needs in epidemics and pandemics (panel ). These principles are proposed for endorsement by research funders, donors, governments or any other entities supporting research to address the most pressing global needs around COVID-19 and for future epidemics and pandemics. They aim to improve relevant research outputs, ensure outputs are shared rapidly to permit consolidation and review, inform policy and practice, and ensure lessons are learned to improve responses within this pandemic and for future epidemics and pandemics.

Panel. Funder principles for supporting high-quality research for the most pressing global needs in epidemics and pandemics.

The principles aim to address good practice in relation to:

• •Alignment to global research agendas and locally identified priorities
• •Research capacity for rapid research
• •Supporting equitable, inclusive inter-disciplinary and cross-sectoral partnerships
• •Open science and data sharing
• •Protection from harm
• •Appropriate ethical consideration
• •Collaboration and learning through enhanced coordination

The seven principles build on best practice guidance generated by the previous work of UKCDR, GloPID-R, WHO, the European Commission, and others. They provide a basis for guiding both funder and researcher expectations for COVID-19 and for future epidemics and pandemics. The principles are globally applicable, but of particular importance for research in lower resourced settings.

Given the urgency, scale and resource limitations, there is a particular risk that research needs in resource-limited countries are not adequately addressed for the COVID-19 pandemic, that research outputs fail to inform real-time policy in these settings, and that capacity is not sustained to address future outbreaks. The research community has already taken steps to respond to this challenge through the creation of the global coalition to accelerate COVID-19 clinical research in resource-limited settings.¹ Global research funders are now launching further calls to support research in low-income and middle-income countries for COVID-19.

The UKCDR and GloPID-R funder groups have agreed to align to further strengthen their response with the formation of a new jointly hosted initiative for COVID-19 research coordination and learning (COVID-CIRCLE) in accordance with these principles, with a particular focus on resource limited settings. This will build on the COVID-19 Research Project Tracker by UKCDR and GLOPID-R, a live database of funded research projects on COVID-19 that has been helping funders and researchers identify gaps and opportunities and inform future research investments or coordination needs.