Updated on: 2020-06-12
| Response | |
|---|---|
| Q1A. What arrangements, if any, do you have in place to ensure scientific advice informs national policy and decision making in relation to Covid-19? | We will answer this as “informing EU policy and decision-making”: New advisory structures Advisory panel on COVID-19: group of epidemiologists and virologists to provide recommendations to the Commission on response measures, including policy measures for addressing and mitigating medium and long-term consequences of COVID-19, chaired by the Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, and co-chaired by Stella Kyriakides, Commissioner for Health and Food Safety. Established on 16.03.2020 by EC Decision C(2020)1799 T The panel will provide advice to the Commission on the following: Formulation of response measures to be addressed to all Member States • Identification and mitigation of significant gaps and inconsistencies in measures to contain the spread of COVID-19, including in clinical management and treatment • Prioritisation of health care, civil protection and other resources as well as support measures to be organised or coordinated at EU level • Subsequently, recommendation of policy measures for addressing and mitigating long-term consequences of COVID-19. Special Advisor to President Von der Leyen: Peter Piot was appointed to advise the Commission in supporting and steering research and innovation (R&I) in the global fight against COVID-19; he will also advise the Commission on increasing European preparedness in case of future epidemics making best use of research and innovation. This will imply advice on the acceleration of the development, manufacture and deployment of diagnostics, treatments and vaccines; also member of the above mentioned advisory panel. COVID-19 Ad Hoc group: set up by EC together with MS in the framework of the ERAvsCorona Action Plan to strengthen the operational coordination of R&I funding against COVID-19 covering the whole pipeline (from pre-clinical research to products being available to citizens) for vaccines, treatments and testing; work is carried out in four subgroups: (1) Clinical trials, (2) Manufacturing, (3) Testing, and (4) Financing. Foresight: study on the scientific, technological and societal conditions for the end of the COVID 19 crisis; May-July 2020. JRC Coronavirus Task Force: Set up to coordinate and connect the different scientific activities and contributions of the JRC to the EC’s COVID-19 response Already existing advisory structures The European Centre for Diseases Prevention and Control (ECDC): providing risk assessments, guidance, and advice on public health response activities to EU Member States and the EU Commission; it is also represented in the above-mentioned advisory panel on COVID-19. The European Medicines Agency (EMA): providing advice to patients and healthcare professionals on the safe use of medicines during the pandemic, and providing scientific and regulatory advice to developers and companies on COVID-19. EC’s Group of Chief Scientific Advisors: a group of highly qualified independent experts with the mandate to provide independent scientific advice and at the request of the College to inform its decision-making and thus contribute to the quality of EU legislation. European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies (EGE): An independent, multi-disciplinary body, which advises on all aspects of Commission policies where ethical, societal and fundamental rights issues intersect with the development of science and new technologies. The EGE agreed to cooperate with the GCSA and Prof. Piot in the provision of science advice on COVID-19 (see above). European Commission Expert Group “Economic and Societal Impact of Research and Innovation” (ESIR): a group of independent experts delivering analysis, insight and recommendations for the further elaboration of policies that can enhance the contribution of R&I to the overall EU policy agenda. The ESIR group just published its first Policy Brief ‘Protect, prepare and transform Europe’ that fed into the Commission’s post-COVID-19 strategy (the recovery package). The whole JRC has been mobilised to provide evidence that might support the tasks of Crisis Management while to start thinking in the aftermath of the crisis, including the elaboration of models to determine which are the most effective exit scenarios and their consequences. This includes, among other input, guidelines and control materials for testing and better characterization of the pandemics; epidemiological modelling; the detailed analysis on economic impact in different sectors (agriculture, energy supply, transport, …); the analysis of social aspects along with the environmental perspective; scientific input to supporting the African response to COVID-19; and more. The JRC’s Disaster Risk Management Knowledge Centre: The Disaster Risk Management Knowledge Centre (DRMKC) provides a networked approach to the science-policy interface in DRM, across the Commission, EU Member States and the DRM community within and beyond the EU. In the COVID-19 context, the DRMKC serves as one important network and platform to produce, assemble, store and share external and internal scientific research in response to the pandemic. Lessons learned report on COVID-19 crisis management will be part of the second “Science for Disaster Risk Management” flagship report. |
| Q1B. In what ways, if any, are you coordinating on Covid-19 STI responses at international level? | The European Commission is coordinating a common European response to the outbreak of COVID-19. Coordination efforts are wide-ranging and take place at the Commission, broader EU, Member State and international levels. The EC is taking resolute action to reinforce our public health sectors and mitigate the socio-economic impact in the European Union. There are active discussions between DG R&I and the R&I DGs of the national administrations to discuss the coordination of R&I actions on COVID19. The crisis coordination mechanism of the Commission has been activated and the Crisis Coordination Committee meets regularly to synergise the action of all the relevant departments and services of the Commission and of the EU agencies. It is chaired by Commissioner Janez Lenarčič in his role of European Emergency Response Coordinator. The Commission has also established a coordinating response team at political level composed of the commissioners responsible for the most affected policies. External coordination on the R&I response is ensured mainly through the Global Research Collaboration for Infectious Disease Preparedness (GloPID-R). This is a network of preparedness research funders; the Commission funds its secretariat and is one of the vice chairs. Regular teleconferences are held between chairs and vice chairs of GloPID-R, and also with the World Health Organisation (WHO). The network is keen to create synergies between the different research efforts and avoid duplication. Furthermore, bilateral talks are being held with those Member States that have indicated that they intend to provide support for Corona virus-related research in order to better understand the destinations being considered for their funding efforts. Additionally, the Coalition of Epidemic Preparedness Innovation (CEPI), which is an initiative that focuses on vaccine development (the Commission is a financial contributor), is ‘fast forwarding’ a programme of vaccine development against COVID-19, aiming to initiate clinical trials of vaccine candidates and to support the development of hundreds of millions of doses. The EU is assuming responsibility towards the African continent with insufficient health systems to cope – through the European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP). The President of the European Commission has indicated after G20 that the EU stands ready to organise a pledging conference with focus on vaccine development. The EU has a leading position on open science and is leading the way internationally by connecting initiatives launched by US (OSTP) and UNESCO Plea. |
| Q2.Do you have dedicated arrangements in place for communicating science advice and for refuting misleading information to the public on Covid-19? | The COVID-19 pandemic has been accompanied by an ‘infodemic’ – a substantial increase of misinformation and targeted disinformation campaigns- that poses a twofold threat to the EU. Firstly, ‘infodemic’ has been proven to adversely impact public health by the dissemination of false and harmful information. Secondly, an advancement of geopolitical or commercial interests by malign actors. The Commission is active in the area of citizen outreach and communication: within the EC page for the Coronavirus response (https://ec.europa.eu/info/live-work-trav...), the Commission has launched a page to inform about all the EU research projects and initiatives to tackle the spread of COVID-19 and preparedness for other outbreaks: https://ec.europa.eu/info/research-and-i... The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) is closely monitoring this outbreak, providing risk assessments, public health guidance, and advice on response activities to EU Member States and the EU Commission. On ‘fake news’, the European Commission is helping fight disinformation through close cooperation with online platforms. The EC is encouraging them to promote authoritative sources, demote content that is fact-checked as false or misleading, and take down illegal content or content that could cause physical harm. In 2018, the Commission adopted a Communication on tackling online disinformation, together with a code of good practice for digital platforms and an action plan, aiming to protect the democratic systems of the EU MS. In this context, the European External Action Service runs the EUvsDisinfo website https://euvsdisinfo.eu/ that detects narratives about the supposed superiority of authoritarian regimes in addressing COVID-19, as opposed to the perceived weaknesses of democracies. In addition, Europol provides advice on how to fight COVID-19 fake news, and a number of MS set up national task forces to monitor and counter country-specific false information. DG COMM set up a ‘Fighting disinformation’ corner under the Commission’s Coronavirus response website. DG R&I has flagged multiple instances of harmful narratives, and developed and disseminated resources helpful in countering misinformation. DG R&I also provided content for a new webpage listing EU-funded R&I projects working against disinformation. A Communication Tackling COVID-19 disinformation - Getting the facts right on disinformation focussing on the COVID-19 specific issues on which DG R&I already provided input was adopted on 10 June. The European Commission has also raised attention to the rise of online scams and unfair practices: on 23 March 2020, Commissioner For Justice and Consumers Didier Reynders wrote to a number of platforms, social media, search engines and market places to require their cooperation in taking down scams from their platforms, following the common position endorsed by the CPC network. On 20 March 2020, the consumer protection (CPC) authorities of the Member States, with the support of the Commission, issued CPC Common Position COVID-19 on the most reported scams and unfair practices in this context. The objective is to ask and help online platform operators to better identify such illegal practices, take them down and prevent similar ones to reappear. https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/fil... |
| Q3. What new STI policy measures, if any, is your country taking to respond specifically to the Covid-19 crisis? | The Commission is providing direct support for research and innovation. Research and innovation (R&I) plays a key role in the COVID-19 outbreak and R&I related actions are an essential part of the coordinated EU response. These actions focus on: 1. Support new R&I; 2. Speeding up research by optimising framework conditions; 3. Translating research findings into public health policy; 4. Internal and external coordination; 5. Analysis of social and economic impacts 6. Outreach and communication. Summary of actions so far • Under EU’s Horizon 2020 mobilization of approx. EUR 48.2 million funds for 18 new health-related COVID-19 research & innovation projects .20 March. • Revision and new prioritisation of EUR 250 million InnovFin financial instruments, in cooperation with the European Investment Bank (EIB) (including Financial support of EUR 80 million to the German pharmaceutical company CureVac .16 March. • Fast track awarding European Innovation Council (EIC) grants and blended finance to support startups and SMEs technologies and innovations for ex. treating, testing, monitoring .20 March. An extra EUR 150 million additional budget was approved.30 April. Nearly EUR 166 million, were awarded to 36 companies set to combat the coronavirus pandemic. 8 June. • European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies (EGE) Statement calls for a rallying of solidarity at the European and global level and underlines the core ethical considerations .2 April. • European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP) launched 3 calls for proposals to support research on COVID-19 tests, diagnostics and therapeutics and to strengthen research capacities in sub-Saharan Africa with up to €25 million from H2020. 1st call (budget of EUR 2.25 - H2020 and EUR 7.75 million - European Participating States, will support 20 proposals. 3 April. The other 2 calls will strengthen the research capacities in sub-Saharan Africa with a total budget of EUR 23 million. 10 April. • EU and Member States to support, to coordinate efforts and seek synergies on research and innovation – first 10 priority actions of the dynamic ERAvsCorona Action Plan approved.7 April. • Launch of a European COVID-19 Data Platform to enable the rapid collection and sharing of available research data to support researchers in Europe and around the world. 20 April. • DG SANTE’s Health Policy Platform - In order to facilitate easy communication between researchers on initial and unconfirmed observations, a moderated space called “researchers chat” (with restricted access) was set up on DG SANTE’s Health Policy Platform. This allows low-threshold exchange between researchers from different projects, promoting also interdisciplinary connections. • A Joint Action EUnetHTA, co-funded by the Public Health Programme and gathering European Health Technology Assessment (HTA) organisations, is planning to develop a shared repository of HTA reports from different HTA agencies on comparative effectiveness of treatments for COVID-19. • EC in close collaboration with EU MS has hosted a Pan-EU Hackathon (#EUvsVirus) to connect civil society, innovators, partners and buyers across Europe to develop innovative solutions to overcome coronavirus-related challenges. 24 - 26 April. Winners were invited to a Matchathon on the new EIC COVID Platform. 22 - 25 May. • Supporting the global response to COVID-19 through multilateral platforms and H2020 projects. • To support reaching the objectives of the Coronavirus Global Response, the European Commission is committing EUR 1 billion through reprioritisation of Horizon 2020. 4 May. • EC granted the 1st batch of EIC COVID-19 Response Seal of Excellence to 82 excellent proposals addressing the COVID-19 outbreak. The s2nd batch was granted to 57 COVID-19 Seal related proposals making a total of 139 COVID-19 seals. 4 June. • Under EU’s Horizon 2020 mobilization of EUR 72 million for fast-track call of the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI).3 March. Horizon 2020 will contribute with EUR 72 million (it was EUR 45 million) to this call and a commitment is expected from the pharmaceutical industry (EUR 45 million) so that total investment amounting to EUR 117 million for 8 large-scale research projects aiming at developing treatments (3) and diagnostics (5) .12 May. • European Institute of Innovation & Technology (EIT) has mobilise EUR 60 million of additional funding to innovators powering high-impact solutions that tackle the unprecedented challenges .14 May. • EC has launched the ERA corona platform, a one-stop shop for information for current and prospective beneficiaries of the R&I Programmes.14 May. • Under EU’s Horizon 2020 mobilization of EUR 122 million on a second Expression of Interest from the Health Programme for urgently needed research into the coronavirus. It complements earlier actions to develop diagnostics, treatments and vaccines by strengthening capacity to manufacture and deploying readily available solutions in order to rapidly address the pressing needs. It will also improve understanding of the behavioural and socio-economic impacts of the epidemic.19 May. • EC’s H2020 Expert Group to update and expand "Gendered Innovations/ Innovation through Gender published The impact of sex and gender in the COVID-19 pandemic .27 May. • Expert group on the economic and societal impact of research and innovation (ESIR) published Protect, prepare and transform Europe - Recovery and resilience post COVID-19 .28 May. In the following sections, a non-exhaustive list of these actions is presented: 1. DIRECT SUPPORT FOR RESEARCH AND INNOVATION Support new research and innovation • Horizon 2020 Health-related R&I - finances an emergency funding action (30 Jan). Eighteen (18) projects involving 140 research teams. All aspects of the virus outbreak will be supported with EUR 48.2 million. Grant agreements are in the process of being signed. The projects will have April 1 the latest as starting date. • Horizon 2020 Health-related R&I – DG Research & Innovation and DG CONNECT launched 19 May a second Expression of Interest from the Health Programme (SC1 health H2020). The Commission has mobilised EUR 122 million (Horizon 2020) for urgently needed research into the coronavirus. It complements earlier actions to develop diagnostics, treatments and vaccines by strengthening capacity to manufacture and deploying readily available solutions in order to rapidly address the pressing needs. It will also improve understanding of the behavioural and socio-economic impacts of the epidemic. • Horizon 2020 - Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI), a Public-Private Partnership between the EU and the pharmaceutical industry (3 March) published a special fast track call for proposals for research projects. Eight large-scale research projects aiming at developing treatments (3) and diagnostics (5) were selected. Horizon 2020 will contribute with EUR 72 million (it was EUR 45 million) to this call and a commitment is expected from the pharmaceutical industry (EUR 45 million) so that total investment could reach EUR 117 million. (12 May). A number of IMI’s projects are making valuable contributions to the global effort to tackle COVID-19 see here. IMI has published updated versions of the draft texts of the topics (25 May) that are slated for inclusion in IMI’s next Calls for proposals, IMI2 – Calls 22 and 23, which are scheduled for launch on 23 June 2020. • Horizon 2020 - supported European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials (EDCTP), a Public-Private Partnership focusing on infectious diseases research in sub-Saharan Africa, has launched an emergency call for expressions of interest (April 3) for research activities to manage and/or prevent the spread of the current outbreak with a budget of EUR 7.30 million (2.25 million - Horizon 2020, 2.55 million – Sweden, 1.0 million – France and 1.5 million UK). This first call will support 20 proposals while 43 proposals will be placed on the reserve list. Two more calls were open (April 10): EUR 23 million to build for research capacity, strengthening the sub-Saharan research networks and establishing an African cohort of epidemiologists and biostatisticians through training in institutions in Europe and sub-Saharan Africa. • Horizon 2020 European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator pilot, start-up companies and SMEs with relevant innovations had been alerted to the possibility of applying to the next bottom-up call for proposals (deadline 20 March). A record number of almost 4000 start-ups and small and medium businesses (SMEs) applied to the EIC Accelerator pilot, amongst which almost 1400 proposed innovations relevant to the coronavirus outbreak. An extra EUR 150 million additional budget was approved (30 April) to fund the best start-ups and SMEs who applied under the March cut-off. Nearly, EUR 166 million were awarded to 36 companies set to combat the coronavirus pandemic • DG Research and Innovation in cooperation with the European Investment Bank (EIB) reviewed the allocation and prioritisation of the financial means under the InnovFin financial instruments. Around EUR 400 million (including support to CureVac AG of up to EUR 80 million) has been secured for additional financing and will be re-allocated to COVID19 actions without requiring additional resources from the Commission. Products focused on are the InnovFin Infectious Diseases Finance Facility (IDFF) and the Thematic Investment Platforms . Please see here the new factsheet EIB group – Coronavirus Crisis response – EIB support for vaccines, treatments and diagnostics • The European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) Health Knowledge Innovation Community (KIC) has mobilised nearly EUR 6.00 million for COVID-19 actions. Funding will be dedicated to 15 specially selected health innovation projects across Europe. Projects’. Re-orientation of on-going research (examples) • Horizon 2020 supported project Digital Innovation Hubs in Healthcare Robotics (DIH-HERO) an independent platform which connects Digital Innovation Hubs across Europe to create a sustaining network for all those who are active in the healthcare robotics sector has launched a EUR 5 million emergency call for projects to boost robotic solutions that can be deployed quickly in the healthcare sector to fight against COVD-19. COVID-19 Applicant guide 2020 • List of European Research Council (ERC) - all funded research projects related to coronavirus, epidemiology and virology, as well as other relevant disciplines (structural and molecular mechanisms, host-pathogen and/or species interactions, new diagnostic and therapeutic avenues, AI and medical devices, epidemiological aspects, societal behaviour and impact), has been created and updated (3 April). 2. SPEEDING UP RESEARCH AND INNOVATION – OPTIMISING ENABLING FRAMEWORK CONDITIONS Research Infrastructures • Horizon 2020 grants access to essential Research Infrastructure (RI) services are repurposing their calls and considering stepped-up efforts to focus on COVID-19. Beyond the European Virus Archive and TRANSVAC for vaccine research, this includes other EU supported pan-European RIs: SoBigData-Plus (big data analytics); ERINHA (high-risk pathogen safety labs); ELIXIR (coordinating the storage of and access to biological data); ECRIN (clinical trials). CALIPSO-PLUS and CERIC-ERIC have set up a dedicated Fast Track Access to a selected number of analytical facilities for research related to the COVID-19. Research data sharing • DG R&I in close collaboration with DG SANTE, DG CONNECT and EMBL’s European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI), together with EU Member States and research partners such as ELIXIR, has launched (20 April) the European COVID-19 research data platform. This joint effort is a priority pilot to realise the goals of European Open Science Cloud and is part of the ERAvsCorona Action Plan. This will allow the scientific community to share, analyse, and process data rapidly, openly and effectively across the Member States and the globe. See message by EC President Ursula von der Leyen on the launch of the EU COVID19 Data Platform and press release. • To complement the platform deployment, the EC is urging all H2020 projects working on COVID-19 and SARS-CoV-2 to provide immediate open access to their related publications, data and any other output. To support them, a guidance document has been developed that includes specific guidelinees regarding FAIR principles, Open Access to publications and data, etc. • The Research Data Alliance Working Group on COVID-19 has gathered more than 300 domain and data experts from all over the world to produce a set of guidelines and recommendations for data sharing in public health emergencies to support scientific research and policy making. It covers data from 5 sub-groups focusing on essential thematic areas: Clinical, Community Participation, Epidemiology, Omics, and Social Sciences. The 5th (pre final) release of the COVID-19 Recommendations and Guidelines was published on 28 May and it is open for comments until 8 June. Then, after revision and endorsement by the RDA governance bodies, the final version will be published on 30 June. • OpenAIRE, in collaboration with the EC, will provide services to help in the sharing, discovery, navigation and collaboration of the global research community. In particular, a beta version of the service (operational) has now been released to serve as a single entry point for research results (publications, data, and software) for COVID-19 and SARS-CoV-2. This service is linked to the other data sharing initiatives • The European Open Science Cloud Secretariat has introduced a fast-track procedure to apply for funding, specifically dedicated to activities related to COVID-19 in the area of Open Science and research data sharing. The deadline for applications is on 12 June. Platform to share Information • DG SANTE’s Health Policy Platform - In order to facilitate easy communication between researchers on initial and unconfirmed observations, a moderated space called “researchers chat” (with restricted access) was set up on DG SANTE’s Health Policy Platform. This allows low-threshold exchange between researchers from different projects, promoting also interdisciplinary connections. • The European Commission launched (14 May) the new European Research Area (ERA) corona platform. The ERA corona platform is a one-stop shop for information for current and prospective beneficiaries of the R&I Programmes The platform provides useful information, dedicated support and real-time updates on funding opportunities for coronavirus related research and innovation. Since the COVID-19 outbreak, the scientific community is facing unprecedented challenges in the search for solutions against coronavirus. Good coordination and quick mobilisation of funds are essential to help our researchers and innovators meet those challenges. Pan-EU Hackathon • The European Commission under the patronage of Cssr Mariya Gabriel, in close collaboration with EU member states, host an online Pan-EU Hackathon April 24 -26 (#EUvsVirus) to connect civil society, innovators, partners and buyers across Europe to develop innovative solutions to overcome coronavirus-related challenges. The ‘Winning’ solutions in each challenge area were announced (April 30) here. Winners were invited to a Matchathon that took place 22 - 25 May on the new EIC COVID Platform was created to facilitate connections with end users, such as hospitals, and provide access to investors, foundations and other funding opportunities from across the EU. Seal of Excellence • On 8 May, the European Commission granted the first batch of the EIC COVID-19 Response Seal of Excellence to 82 excellent proposals addressing the challenges of the COVID-19 outbreak. On 4 June, after the final selection, the second batch of COVID-19 related seals was granted to 57 COVID related Seal proposals making a total of 139 COVID-19 seals with a total amount of support of EUR 384 million. The proposals were submitted under European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator Pilot (March 20 cut-off). The Seal certificate, co-signed now by Commissioner Mariya Gabriel, and by Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, Elisa Ferreira, is addressed to excellent proposals from the EIC Accelerator call which have been evaluated worth of funding but for which Horizon Europe does not have enough resources in the call. Ethics • One of the main obstacles to the speedy launch of clinical trials being the slow and complex approval by the appropriate committees, the Commission is asking projects to raise any issues they may encounter in this respect and encouraging Member States to look into these issues by priority. European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies (EGE) Statement on European solidarity and the protection of fundamental rights in the COVID-19 pandemic (2 April).The EGE calls for a rallying of solidarity at the European and global level and underlines the core ethical considerations that must shape the pathway out of the pandemic. Adequacy regulatory point of view • Where relevant, projects are asked to engage with the European Medical Agency (EMA) in order to ensure from an early stage onwards the adequacy of the proposals from a regulatory point of view. 3. TRANSLATING RESEARCH FINDINGS INTO PUBLIC HEALTH POLICY FOR PANDEMIC RESPONSE • Initial research findings may inform the public health response. The Horizon 2020 model grant agreement obliges the early dissemination of such findings. Another specific moderated space called “research to policy action” (with restricted access) has been set up on DG SANTE’s Health Policy Platform for the posting of such findings and for review of their relevance (and possible recommendations to the Health Security Committee) by the European Centre for Disease Prevention & Control (ECDC) 4. COOPERATION AND COORDINATION Coordination/ cooperation with MS, AC and at international level • The dynamic ERAvsCorona Action Plan - short-term coordinated R&I actions identifies the first 10 priority R&I work streams for coordinated action between the Commission and the Member States has received support at the informal video conference of ministers of research, 7 April. • On 29 May, in the informal High Level Video-Conference ,the R&I Ministers debated on the lessons learnt from the research and innovation response to the COVID-19 outbreak, on how R&I investments can be best used to boost future jobs and on the role of R&I in the recovery. Ministers reaffirmed the importance of R&I investments at European and national level, and anchoring science at the heart of policy formulation. The ERAvsCorona Action Plan was mentioned as example that it is possible to deliver concrete results in a short time. • The European Union is currently joining forces with global partners to a pledging effort – the Coronavirus Global Response – an International Pledging Event, led by the EC started on 4 May 2020. It is a joint call for action to develop fast and equitable access to safe, quality, effective and affordable diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines against coronavirus. The Commission registered already EUR 9.8 billion, EUR 2.3 billion in pledges beyond the initial target of EUR 7.5 million that includes a pledge of EUR 1.4 billion by EC (EUR 1 billion is through reprioritisation of Horizon 2020). The pledging marathon steps up to the next phase and marks the beginning of a new campaign that will culminate in a final Global Pledging Summit on Saturday 27 June. Together with the international advocacy organisation Global Citizen, the Commission will step up the mobilisation of funding to enable the world to overcome this pandemic and avoid another. Table that presents a complete overview of all funding pledged and already mobilised under Horizon 2020 to contribute to the Coronavirus Global Response pledging marathon. • Several meetings to coordinate the efforts at International level took place, in particular at G20 level Commissioner Mariya Gabriel has participated at several high-level videoconference with chief scientific advisors, ministers and leaders of international partners on COVID-19. • UNESCO hosted an online Ministerial meeting (30 March) with representatives of ministries in charge of science from all over the world to which Commissioner Gabriel participated. This meeting provided a platform for sharing experiences and lessons learnt on how science has informed evidence based on decision-making. The meeting and the associated ‘Plea for a global pact for Open Sciences & international scientific collaboration’ aimed at reaffirming the critical role of science to contain the pandemic and preparedness for the future. • DG Research and Innovation co-chaired a virtual e-brainstorming meeting of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) Regional Platform in Research and Innovation (6 April) to discuss the future thematic priorities of the Platform in light of the current COVID-19 global epidemic. • A Joint EU-Canada statement COVID-19 was adopted (14 April) by Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. R&I is one of the key areas covered by the statement. Canada is keen to promote linkages between Canada projects and the EU COVID19 projects. 5. MONITORING AND ANALYSIS OF ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL ASPECTS • Research and innovation (R&I) has contributed to the EC recovery package. • The recently set high-level Expert group on the economic and societal impact of research and innovation (ESIR) has launched the Policy Brief No. 1 Protect, prepare and transform Europe - Recovery and resilience post COVID-19 a first reflection on the role of science and innovation in support of the exit strategy from COVID19. 6. OUTREACH AND COMMUNICATION • A video ‘EU Research and Innovation: United against Coronavirus’ that highlights the unique role EU research and innovation has played in connecting researchers, innovators and healthcare providers over the last few months, providing concrete examples of some of our most important initiatives. • Four factsheets were prepared 1. EUR 1 BILLION MOBILISED UNDER HORIZON 2020 2. TEST! Early detection and monitoring to save lives and preserve healthcare systems 3. PREVENT! Protecting people and stopping the epidemic 4. TREAT! Early treatment to save lives and accelerate recovery |
| Q4A. At national level, what mechanisms are you developing or relying upon to bring together different STI actors (researchers, industry, government, health sector, foundations, etc.) to effectively collaborate on responses to Covid-19? | Coordination/ cooperation with MS • The dynamic ERAvsCorona Action Plan - short-term coordinated R&I actions identifies the first 10 priority R&I work streams for coordinated action between the Commission and the Member States has received support at the informal video conference of ministers of research, 7 April. • On 29 May, in the informal High Level Video-Conference ,the R&I Ministers debated on the lessons learnt from the research and innovation response to the COVID-19 outbreak, on how R&I investments can be best used to boost future jobs and on the role of R&I in the recovery. Ministers reaffirmed the importance of R&I investments at European and national level, and anchoring science at the heart of policy formulation. The ERAvsCorona Action Plan was mentioned as example that it is possible to deliver concrete results in a short time. |
| Q4B. At international level, what mechanisms are you developing or relying upon to bring together different STI actors (researchers, industry, government, health sector, foundations, etc.) to effectively collaborate on responses to Covid-19? | - Overall, Horizon 2020 involves an approach of consortia and/or partnerships for industry, researchers, innovators, to collaborate on R&I responses. This also applies to the projects working on the Covid-19 outbreak. • The European Union is currently joining forces with global partners to a pledging effort – the Coronavirus Global Response – an International Pledging Event, led by the EC started on 4 May 2020. It is a joint call for action to develop fast and equitable access to safe, quality, effective and affordable diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines against coronavirus. The Commission registered already EUR 9.8 billion, EUR 2.3 billion in pledges beyond the initial target of EUR 7.5 million that includes a pledge of EUR 1.4 billion by EC (EUR 1 billion is through reprioritisation of Horizon 2020). The pledging marathon steps up to the next phase and marks the beginning of a new campaign that will culminate in a final Global Pledging Summit on Saturday 27 June. Together with the international advocacy organisation Global Citizen, the Commission will step up the mobilisation of funding to enable the world to overcome this pandemic and avoid another. Table that presents a complete overview of all funding pledged and already mobilised under Horizon 2020 to contribute to the Coronavirus Global Response pledging marathon. • Several meetings to coordinate the efforts at International level took place, in particular at G20 level Commissioner Mariya Gabriel has participated at several high-level videoconference with chief scientific advisors, ministers and leaders of international partners on COVID-19. • UNESCO hosted an online Ministerial meeting (30 March) with representatives of ministries in charge of science from all over the world to which Commissioner Gabriel participated. This meeting provided a platform for sharing experiences and lessons learnt on how science has informed evidence based on decision-making. The meeting and the associated ‘Plea for a global pact for Open Sciences & international scientific collaboration’ aimed at reaffirming the critical role of science to contain the pandemic and preparedness for the future. • The EC co-chaired a virtual e-brainstorming meeting of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) Regional Platform in Research and Innovation (6 April) to discuss the future thematic priorities of the Platform in light of the current COVID-19 global epidemic. • A Joint EU-Canada statement COVID-19 was adopted (14 April) by Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. R&I is one of the key areas covered by the statement. Canada is keen to promote linkages between Canada projects and the EU COVID19 projects. |
| Q5. What novel approaches, if any, is your country using to address the coronavirus crisis (e.g. use of machine learning, open science initiatives boosting access and sharing of data and research results, development and use of prediction models, etc.)? | Research Infrastructures • Horizon 2020 grants access to essential Research Infrastructure (RI) services are repurposing their calls and considering stepped-up efforts to focus on COVID-19. Beyond the European Virus Archive and TRANSVAC for vaccine research, this includes other EU supported pan-European RIs: SoBigData-Plus (big data analytics); ERINHA (high-risk pathogen safety labs); ELIXIR (coordinating the storage of and access to biological data); ECRIN (clinical trials). CALIPSO-PLUS and CERIC-ERIC have set up a dedicated Fast Track Access to a selected number of analytical facilities for research related to the COVID-19. Research data sharing • DG R&I in close collaboration with DG SANTE, DG CONNECT and EMBL’s European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI), together with EU Member States and research partners such as ELIXIR, has launched (20 April) the European COVID-19 research data platform. This joint effort is a priority pilot to realise the goals of European Open Science Cloud and is part of the ERAvsCorona Action Plan. This will allow the scientific community to share, analyse, and process data rapidly, openly and effectively across the Member States and the globe. • To complement the platform deployment, the EC is urging all H2020 projects working on COVID-19 and SARS-CoV-2 to provide immediate open access to their related publications, data and any other output. To support them, a guidance document has been developed that includes specific guidelinees regarding FAIR principles, Open Access to publications and data, etc. • The Research Data Alliance Working Group on COVID-19 has gathered more than 300 domain and data experts from all over the world to produce a set of guidelines and recommendations for data sharing in public health emergencies to support scientific research and policy making. It covers data from 5 sub-groups focusing on essential thematic areas: Clinical, Community Participation, Epidemiology, Omics, and Social Sciences. The 5th (pre final) release of the COVID-19 Recommendations and Guidelines was published on 28 May and it is open for comments until 8 June. Then, after revision and endorsement by the RDA governance bodies, the final version will be published on 30 June. • OpenAIRE, in collaboration with the EC, will provide services to help in the sharing, discovery, navigation and collaboration of the global research community. In particular, a beta version of the service (operational) has now been released to serve as a single entry point for research results (publications, data, and software) for COVID-19 and SARS-CoV-2. This service is linked to the other data sharing initiatives • The European Open Science Cloud Secretariat has introduced a fast-track procedure to apply for funding, specifically dedicated to activities related to COVID-19 in the area of Open Science and research data sharing. The deadline for applications is on 12 June. Platform to share Information • DG SANTE’s Health Policy Platform - In order to facilitate easy communication between researchers on initial and unconfirmed observations, a moderated space called “researchers chat” (with restricted access) was set up on DG SANTE’s Health Policy Platform. This allows low-threshold exchange between researchers from different projects, promoting also interdisciplinary connections. • The European Commission launched (14 May) the new European Research Area (ERA) corona platform. The ERA corona platform is a one-stop shop for information for current and prospective beneficiaries of the R&I Programmes The platform provides useful information, dedicated support and real-time updates on funding opportunities for coronavirus related research and innovation. Since the COVID-19 outbreak, the scientific community is facing unprecedented challenges in the search for solutions against coronavirus. Good coordination and quick mobilisation of funds are essential to help our researchers and innovators meet those challenges. Pan-EU Hackathon • The European Commission under the patronage of Cssr Mariya Gabriel, in close collaboration with EU member states, host an online Pan-EU Hackathon April 24 -26 (#EUvsVirus) to connect civil society, innovators, partners and buyers across Europe to develop innovative solutions to overcome coronavirus-related challenges. The ‘Winning’ solutions in each challenge area were announced (April 30) here. Winners were invited to a Matchathon that took place 22 - 25 May on the new EIC COVID Platform was created to facilitate connections with end users, such as hospitals, and provide access to investors, foundations and other funding opportunities from across the EU. Seal of Excellence • On 8 May, the European Commission granted the first batch of the EIC COVID-19 Response Seal of Excellence to 82 excellent proposals addressing the challenges of the COVID-19 outbreak. On 4 June, after the final selection, the second batch of COVID-19 related seals was granted to 57 COVID related Seal proposals making a total of 139 COVID-19 seals with a total amount of support of EUR 384 million. The proposals were submitted under European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator Pilot (March 20 cut-off). The Seal certificate, co-signed now by Commissioner Mariya Gabriel, and by Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, Elisa Ferreira, is addressed to excellent proposals from the EIC Accelerator call which have been evaluated worth of funding but for which Horizon Europe does not have enough resources in the call. Ethics • One of the main obstacles to the speedy launch of clinical trials being the slow and complex approval by the appropriate committees, the Commission is asking projects to raise any issues they may encounter in this respect and encouraging Member States to look into these issues by priority. European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies (EGE) Statement on European solidarity and the protection of fundamental rights in the COVID-19 pandemic (2 April).The EGE calls for a rallying of solidarity at the European and global level and underlines the core ethical considerations that must shape the pathway out of the pandemic. |
| Q6A. What impact on the STI system do you anticipate in the short-, medium- and long-term, and what measures are you implementing to address those? | Short-term impacts: • Some impact on scientific events (including e.g. health research related conferences), increased workload on health professionals (some impact on their research work) and potential slowdown in clinical trials activity. • The mobility of human resources in science, technology and innovation is affected (including researchers, scientists, postdocs) but appears limited to some regions. The impact on Europe’s science and innovation capacity is thus limited. • Limited impact is also expected on global innovation networks process industries (incl. energy and resource intensive industries such as chemicals or steel) or materials research organisations. • Low impact is expected on EU research & innovation projects, as the participation of China in Horizon 2020 is low. Medium-term impacts: • A strong decrease in overall mobility across countries and places in the EU occurs, also for researchers and innovators operating outside of restricted areas, and this has a moderate impact on Europe’s science and innovation capacity, which is largely based on such mobility. • Regular postponement and cancellation of scientific events (including health research related conferences), clear overload of health professionals (with a detrimental effect on their research work) and recurrent delays and cancellation in clinical trials. All those are very likely to have a significant impact on scientific developments in the short to the medium run. • Strong impact on global innovation networks and - depending on how the situation evolves - potential delays and a reduction of activities. China, US & Germany host the world’s largest R&D investor firms that perform R&D activities away from headquarters. Large impact expected on the activities of those R&D investors and on the work in related R&D labs. Long-term impacts: • There is a very large estimated loss of total public & private EU R&D investments of -1.3% (€3.9bn) in 2020. • The mobility of human resources in science, technology and innovation (including visiting researchers, staff exchanges) is marginal or close to zero, focusing only on a very limited set of health professionals that do research. This has a durable negative impact on Europe’s scientific production, breakthroughs and the translation of scientific outcomes into solutions, which will be very hard to reverse over the medium term, as national science capacity is built very progressively. • The impact of the outbreak on global innovation networks is very strong with particularly hard impact expected on the activities of large R&D investors (which are largely preforming their R&D activities outside of EU headquarters) and on the work in related R&D labs. This is particularly noticeable in countries such as Germany which host many of those large R&D investing companies and labs. Innovation processes will slowdown as employees in R&D labs and testing facilities may have to stay home. • Among the 4 most affected third countries by COVID-19 (China, South Korea, Japan, Iran), 3 fall within the 20 most active countries in Horizon 2020. The impact of the outbreak under this scenario is larger for Horizon 2020, given that the 4 most affected countries represent 15% of the ongoing participations of the third countries in the programme. Actions under Horizon 2020 that imply networking of research groups will be more impacted by the Covid-19 outbreak. • All major scientific events get postponed or cancelled (including health research related conferences), the overload of health professionals impedes them from doing any research work, and most clinical trials get cancelled. This scenario has major significant impacts on scientific developments in the medium run. |
| Q6B. Is support of the STI system part of planned stimulus packages aimed at supporting the economy? | Research and innovation (R&I) play an essential role in the response to the Covid-19 outbreak. They are also critical levers to ensure a sustainable and inclusive recovery, while boosting the resilience of our production sectors, the competitiveness of our economies and the transformation of our socio-economic systems. Research and innovation actions are an essential part of the coordinated EU response to the public health threat of Covid-19. They channel public and private investments and align funding and investment streams to underpin the Recovery. In the current context, we need science-driven solutions, including better scientific understanding of the virus as well as the development of vaccines, treatments and diagnostics. R&I also provides the technologies that allow for safer and faster tracking of the virus. In global emergencies, such as the Covid19 pandemic, it is essential to remove all obstacles to the free flow of data, researchers and ideas. Full, timely and fair access to scientific information and research results during crises for researchers, journalists, medical staff and all citizens is of outmost importance for accurate and affordable science-based responses. Moreover, openly accessible, machine-readable, interoperable data is needed to follow the spread of the epidemic, and forecast its rapid evolution. Key datasets include clinical, epidemiological and laboratory data. It is of crucial importance to invest in stronger and more resilient national health systems, capable of rapid and integrated responses drawing on the latest scientific discoveries, with equal access across the EU. |
| Q7. Is there anything else regarding the STI policy response to Covid-19 in your country you would like to mention? | Research & innovation (R&I) play a key role in the Covid-19 outbreak, particularly in provision of quick science driven solutions including better scientific understanding of the virus as well as development of treatments and diagnostics. R&I also provides the technologies that allow for safer and faster tracking of the virus and fast diagnosis. Health system’s capacities make a difference in terms of response to outbreaks. Therefore, it is of paramount importance to invest in making national health systems stronger, more resilient and capable of a rapid and integrated response drawing on the latest scientific discoveries, ensuring equal access to healthcare across the EU. Horizon Europe plans to support R&I activities aimed at strengthening health system’s resilience. In the “post-covid world” we have three scenarios: (1) A return to business as usual? (2) “Normality” with “lessons- learned”? and (3) The dawn of a radically different reality? There are risks and opportunities coming from this crisis. On the one hand, climate transition is at risk, the return of state intervention or of state surveillance, or de-globalisation. On the other hand, the opportunities include the rise of self-organization and collective intelligence, knowledge sharing, social innovation, and a boom in solidarity. All these aspects impact society as well, for instance, in terms of individual freedom, impact of social distancing, the future of mobility, higher demand for transparency, government distrust, change of consumption patterns, among many others. This calls for foresight practices to look into the impacts on societies and the economy. |