UK Collaborative on Development Research

The COVID CIRCLE initiative Research Project Tracker by UKCDR and GloPID-R and associated living mapping review (LMR) showed the importance of sharing and analysing data on research at the point of funding to improve coordination during a pandemic. This approach can also help with research preparedness for outbreaks and hence our new programme the Pandemic Preparedness: Analytical Capacity and Funding Tracking Programme (Pandemic PACT) has been established. The LMR described in this protocol builds on the previous UKCDR and GloPID-R COVID-19 Research Project database with addition of the priority diseases from the WHO Blueprint list plus initial additions of pandemic influenza, mpox and plague. We capture data on new funding commitments directly from funders and map these against a core ontology (aligned to existing research roadmaps). We will analyse regularly collated new research funding commitments to provide an open, accessible, near-real-time overview of the funding landscape for a wide range of infectious disease and pandemic preparedness research and assess gaps. The periodicity of updates will be increased in the event of a major outbreak. We anticipate that this LMR and the associated online tool will be a useful resource for funders, policy makers and researchers. In the future, our work will inform a more coordinated approach to research funding by providing evidence and data, including identification of gaps in funding allocation with a particular focus on low- and middle-income countries.

Background:The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has resulted in an unprecedented research response, demonstrating exceptional examples of rapid research and collaboration. There is however a need for greater coordination, with limited resources and the shifting global nature of the pandemic resulting in a proliferation of research projects underpowered and unable to achieve their aims.Methods:The UK Collaborative on Development Research (UKCDR) and Global Research Collaboration for Infectious Disease Preparedness (GloPID-R), two funder coordination groups have collaborated to develop a live database of funded research projects across the world relating to COVID-19. Drawing data continually from their members and further global funding bodies, as of 15thJanuary 2021 the database contains 7,778 projects, funded by 101 funders, taking place across 136 countries representing an investment of at least $3.8 billion. To our knowledge it is one of the most comprehensive databases. The database is aligned to the World Health Organisation (WHO) Global Research Roadmap: 2019 Novel Coronavirus. It is being used by the WHO, governments and multi-lateral policy makers, research funders and researchers.This living mapping review aims to supplement the database by providing an open accessible and frequently updated resource summarising the characteristics of the COVID-19 funded research portfolio. Both descriptive and thematic analysis will be presented and updated frequently to aid interpretation of the global COVID-19 funded research portfolio.Results:In this version three analysis we provide an updated detailed descriptive analysis of the database (three months after version two) and focus our thematic analysis on research gaps, research areas in need of coordination, study populations and research locations (with a focus on resource-limited countries).Conclusions:As the global funding response to COVID-19 plateaus, this living mapping review helps both funders and researchers to prioritise resources to areas where there is continued unmet research need.

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has resulted in an unprecedented research response, demonstrating exceptional examples of rapid research and collaboration. There is however a need for greater coordination, with limited resources and the shifting global nature of the pandemic resulting in a proliferation of research projects underpowered and unable to achieve their aims. Methods: The UK Collaborative on Development Research (UKCDR) and Global Research Collaboration for Infectious Disease Preparedness (GloPID-R), two funder coordination groups have collaborated to develop a live database of funded research projects across the world relating to COVID-19. Drawing data continually from their members and further global funding bodies, as of 15 th October 2020 the database contains 5,084 projects, funded by 71 funders, taking place across 134 countries representing an investment of at least $1.7 billion. To our knowledge it is one of the most comprehensive databases, covering a wide breadth of research disciplines. The database is aligned to the World Health Organisation (WHO) Global Research Roadmap: 2019 Novel Coronavirus. It is being used by the WHO, governments and multi-lateral policy makers, research funders and researchers. This living mapping review aims to supplement the database by providing an open accessible and frequently updated resource summarising the characteristics of the COVID-19 funded research portfolio. Both descriptive and thematic analysis will be presented and updated frequently to aid interpretation of the global COVID-19 funded research portfolio. Results: In this three-month update analysis we provide an updated detailed descriptive analysis of the database and focus our thematic analysis on research gaps, research areas in need of coordination, study populations and research locations (with a focus on resource-limited countries). Conclusions: This living mapping review will help both funders and researchers to prioritise resources to underfunded areas where there is greatest research need and facilitate further strategic collaboration.

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has resulted in an unprecedented research response, demonstrating exceptional examples of rapid research and collaboration. There has however been an ongoing need for greater coordination, with limited resources for research and the shifting global pandemic. Methods: The UK Collaborative on Development Research (UKCDR) and Global Research Collaboration for Infectious Disease Preparedness (GloPID-R), two funder coordination groups have collaborated to develop a live database of funded research projects across the world relating to COVID-19. Drawing data continually from their members and further global funding bodies, as of 15th October 2022 the database contains 20,006 projects, funded by 351 funders, taking place across 157 countries representing an investment of at least $7.4 billion. To our knowledge it is one of the most comprehensive databases. The database is aligned to the World Health Organisation and GloPID-R Global Research Roadmap: 2019 Novel Coronavirus and the UN Research Roadmap for the COVID-19 Recovery. It is being used by the WHO, governments and further policy makers, research funders and researchers. This living mapping review aims to supplement the database by providing an open, accessible, and frequently updated resource summarising the characteristics of the COVID-19 funded research portfolio. Both descriptive and thematic analyses are presented and updated frequently to aid interpretation of the global COVID-19 funded research portfolio. Results: In this final version ten analysis, we provide an updated detailed descriptive analysis of the database (on data from three months after version nine) and focus our thematic analysis on research gaps, research areas in need of coordination, study populations, and research locations (with a focus on resource-limited countries). Conclusions: As the global research response to COVID-19 plateaus, this living mapping review has helped both funders and researchers to prioritise resources and review investments.

Partnerships have become a corner stone of contemporary research that recognizes working across disciplines and co-production with intended users as essential to enabling sustainable resilience-building. Furthermore, research that addresses sustainable development challenges brings an urgent need to reflect on the ways that partnerships are supported, and for the disaster risk management and resilience communities, efforts to support realization of the wider 2030 Agenda for sustainable development bring particular pressures. In November 2019, the UK Disasters Research Group (DRG) brought together a number of key stakeholders focused on disaster risk, resilience, and sustainability research relevant to Official Development Assistance to consider how fit for purpose existing partnership models are for the pace of change required to deliver the priorities of the wider 2030 Agenda. Participants were invited to discuss how research partnerships across three levels (individual and project-based; national and institutional; and international) could be improved based on elements that facilitate robust partnerships and learning from aspects that hinder them. From the discussions, participants emphasized the importance of effective communication mechanisms in building partnerships, co-designing projects, and establishing shared objectives. Enhanced approaches to addressing equitable partnerships and funding more substantive timelines will be key to responding to the challenges of the 2030 Agenda.

More than 40 agencies that fund health research capacity strengthening in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) participate in the ESSENCE Health Research initiative, which has established a mechanism for reviewing and coordinating their funding. Taken together, the expected outcomes of implementation of the review mechanism are increases in the efficiency and equity in health research capacity strengthening activities with decreased duplication of efforts. The overall goal is increased support of research on national health priorities as well as improved pandemic preparedness in LMICs, and, eventually, fewer countries with very limited research capacity.