COVID-19 has exposed stark global inequities, fragilities and unsustainable practices that have intensified the impact of the pandemic. According to UN estimates, in 2020, 71 million people will be pushed into extreme poverty.
To immediately address the complex health, humanitarian and socio-economic consequences while boosting speedy recovery efforts, the UN has released a Research Roadmap for the COVID-19 Recovery, encouraging targeted research for data-driven responses that focus particularly on the needs of people being left behind.
The Roadmap highlights the choice between business as usual, or transformative change that is focused on equity, resilience and sustainability. This transformation requires knowledge of the best way forward, and science represents the world’s best chance for generating that knowledge and recovering better from the COVID-19 crisis.
“We have a historic opportunity for change; for macroeconomic choices and fiscal policies that are pro-poor and that place peoples’ rights at the centre of recovery. We must focus on gender equity and invest in public services and other measures that will help close the widening gap on inequalities and lead to a greener future.”
United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed in the report.
In an interdependent world—shared risk means shared responsibility. Designed to complement the existing UN Framework for the Immediate Socio-Economic Response to COVID-19, the Roadmap identifies 25 main research priorities and key scientific strategies to support a recovery that benefits everyone, everywhere.
“The stakes are too high and the opportunity too great to leave the potential of science for a better COVID-19 recovery unfulfilled. The UN Research Roadmap for the COVID-19
Recovery is a commitment and guide to bring the full promise of research to bear on today’s greatest challenges,” said Professor Steven J. Hoffman, Scientific Director of the Institute of Population & Public Health at the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, who led the development of the Research Roadmap.
Note to editors:
The UN Research Roadmap for the COVID-19 Recovery articulates five research priorities for each of the five pillars identified in the UN Framework for the Immediate Socio- Economic Response to COVID-19. Below is one example of a research priority for each of the five pillars:
1. Health Systems and Services:
What strategies and financing models are most effective in expanding universal health coverage?
2. Social Protection and Basic Services:
What are the most effective and equitable ways of ensuring basic income protection for all?
3. Economic Response and Recovery:
How can food supply chains be secured for the world’s most marginalized populations to ensure food security and nutrition in all circumstances?
4. Macroeconomic Policies and Multilateral Collaboration:
What lessons from past economic crises can inform the design of national, regional and global recovery strategies?
5. Social Cohesion and Community Resilience:
What are the best strategies for building sustainable, inclusive and resilient cities that protect people from future pandemics and climate change?
Science strategies into action
The Roadmap also details how the implementation of an equitable, resilient and sustainable recovery from COVID-19 will require effective science strategies underpinned by investments in data infrastructure and sound scientific methods. The systems that support societies must quickly adapt to new knowledge and new technologies to recover as effectively as possible.
To advance the 25 research priorities identified in this Roadmap, action is needed across the research ecosystem. Researchers, funding agencies, governments and civil society organizations as well as UN entities will need to collaborate and maximize the impacts of investments in research. The Roadmap can guide global efforts, minimize gaps and duplication, and foster partnerships in order to accelerate progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals.
How this Roadmap was developed
The Roadmap was developed in 10 weeks through a global consultative process that engaged more than 250 experts. The process included consultation with five steering groups made up of 38 research funding agencies, consultations with hundreds of policy, research and implementation leaders, and scoping reviews of existing research evidence on socio-economic recovery from health emergencies.
Related Items
ISC and the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs awarded joint grant to support the Biological Weapons Convention
01.05.2024
President of the International Science Council, Sir Peter Gluckman, addresses EU Ministers
15.02.2024
Achieving sustainable development requires the full inclusion of women and girls in science
12.02.2024
Call for expressions of interest in ISC global science-policy work | deadline: 29 February
16.01.2024
New ISC policy brief: A call for a formal scientific voice in the global fight against plastic pollution
16.11.2023
Converging and interdependent crises are amplifying the impacts of one another with often devastating consequences
16.11.2023
FAO and the International Science Council join forces to strengthen science-policy interfaces for agrifood systems
14.11.2023
Podcast with Karen Lord: Science Fiction and the Future of Science: Long-Term Thinking in Policy-making
13.11.2023
Call for nominations of experts: negotiations of an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution
20.10.2023
Request for nominations: The social determinants of mental wellbeing in young people - deadline 17 November
10.10.2023
Cultivating a proactive approach to crises: first meeting of the UNEP/ISC foresight expert panel
26.09.2023
"The making of the Golden Record of our century": daring to pursue mission-oriented science
19.09.2023
To achieve sustainable development, the world needs to mobilize around a big science approach once more
13.09.2023
Proclamation of the International Decade of Sciences for Sustainable Development by the United Nations General Assembly
29.08.2023
The ISC addresses the UN High Level Political Forum and meets with the UN Secretary General
24.07.2023
A Model for Implementing Mission Science for Sustainability: proposed by the Technical Advisory Group to the Global Commission on Science Missions for Sustainability
11.07.2023
The ISC at the Second Session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution
29.05.2023
UN 2023 Water Conference carries new engagements towards realizing SDG6 and future avenues for a decade of action
23.03.2023
IPCC report: the world must cut emissions and urgently adapt to the new climate realities
21.03.2023
Delivering actionable and science-based water solutions: new ISC policy brief launched ahead of the 2023 UN Water Conference
15.03.2023
ISC-BBC StoryWorks partnership ends on a high note, delivering some of the highest engagement for the BBC
13.03.2023
Achieving gender equality in Science, Technology and Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)– when will we get there?
08.03.2023
Distinguished lecture series - From fire to space - Basic sciences lead and shape our paths toward sustainable development
13.02.2023
Invitation to ISC Members and their networks to second experts on horizon scanning and foresight
08.02.2023
Concern for science and research in Afghanistan following authorities' ban on women from higher education
24.01.2023
The ISC and UNEP to cooperate on advancing the use of science in environmental policy and decision-making
16.12.2022
Science in Times of Crisis Episode 2 - The Current Clash: Science and the National Interest.
08.12.2022
There are 8 years left to meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals, but is it enough time?
18.11.2022
Are we in a new era of climate adaptation implementation? The role of regional governments in facilitating local action
09.11.2022
In the face of extreme weather events, coordinated global action to address climate change is needed at COP27
04.11.2022
Scientific review of the first-order draft of the 2023 Global Sustainable Development Report completed
03.11.2022
ISC and WHO sign new agreement furthering mutual scientific cooperation for global health and sustainable development
14.10.2022
Happy birthday to the Montreal Protocol – the most successful environmental treaty of all time?
16.09.2022
COVID-19 likely to worsen inequalities for at least five years without renewed global cooperation, warns International Science Council
16.05.2022
Joint letter to ISC Members from ISC President, Peter Gluckman, and Acting CEO, Mathieu Denis
06.04.2022
Women Leading on Equitable and Inclusive Solutions to address the Climate Emergency: Webinar
08.03.2022
Salim Abdool Karim, renowned epidemiologist and the ISC's new Vice President for Outreach and Engagement, talks "Omicron" with the Lancet
03.12.2021
Negotiations on ending global plastic pollution must be informed by scientific assessment
22.11.2021
World Philosophy Day: Addressing science scepticism requires a stronger understanding of the philosophy of science
18.11.2021
Strengthening the resilience of our global food system while advancing its transformation
23.09.2021
The global vectors of uncertainty that will influence the outcomes of the COVID-19 pandemic: results of the regional experts' discussions
14.09.2021
Reconciling radical and feasible responses to societal emergencies: learning from COVID-19
05.07.2021
A response to The Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response’s new report on the international health response to the COVID-19 Pandemic
12.05.2021
COVID-19 has sparked new relationships between academia and policymakers – we must maintain them
20.04.2021
High-level group appointed to lead the development of the ISC’s strategy in the intergovernmental system
29.03.2021
The ISC has been honoured to have Dr Flavia Schlegel serve as its first Special Envoy for Science in Global Policy
22.12.2020
Statement by Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, UN Women Executive Director, on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women
25.11.2020
What are your latest findings and strategies to address the COVID-19 crisis, including for vaccine deployment?
23.11.2020
Fighting COVID-19 in the Brazilian Amazon has exposed multiple threats and vulnerabilities – but also hope
21.08.2020
Lessons from existing disaster risk and recovery research should inform equitable and sustainable pathways out of the pandemic
13.08.2020
The World Pandemic Research Network - Addressing the societal and human impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
22.06.2020
From COVID-19 crisis comes opportunity to rethink risk - by Heide Hackmann, ISC CEO and Mami Mizutori, Secretary-General UNDRR
03.06.2020
Innovative technologies and post-Coronavirus economic recovery: A global value chains perspective
02.06.2020
Biodiversity as insurance: aligning economic stimulus packages with long-term nature conservation goals. A Corona Sustainability Compass blog by Jasper Meya
26.05.2020
Why intellectual property needs urgent attention from policy makers during the COVID-19 pandemic
20.05.2020
COVID-19 Stimulus Measures Must Save Lives, Protect Livelihoods, and Safeguard Nature to Reduce the Risk of Future Pandemics
30.04.2020
Addressing the equity, freedom and sustainability deficits to maintain social progress despite COVID-19
21.04.2020
Use the economic stimulus package to build resilient, climate-friendly economic structures
14.04.2020
Risks and opportunities in responding to the coronavirus crisis - by Prof. Dr. Dirk Messner
14.04.2020
Tackling Climate Change with COVID-19 Urgency - by ISC Patron, Mary Robinson and ISC President, Daya Reddy
01.04.2020
Four major international data organizations join forces to optimize the research data ecosystem, launching a COVID-19 appeal as their first joint action
31.03.2020
Building resilience against biological hazards and pandemics: COVID-19 and its implications for the Sendai Framework
27.03.2020
Understanding the different characteristics of African cities will be crucial in responding effectively to COVID-19 on the continent
13.03.2020
ISC commits to enhanced collaboration with UN-Habitat and UNDRR on urban health and wellbeing and disaster risk reduction
20.06.2019
External evaluation report of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) is now available
19.04.2019
The United Nations proclaims the International Year of the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements
10.01.2018
SDG Interactions, gender, science-policy interface: ICSU at the High Level Political Forum
17.07.2017
First UN Oceans conference highlights urgency to address marine pollution, warming and over-fishing
15.06.2017
International Council for Science calls on United States to support international efforts to combat dangerous climate change
01.06.2017
New report from scientific experts provides a unique guide to translate Sustainable Development Goals into reality
12.05.2017