GloPID-R Secretariat

Project Information

GloPID-R SEC 2

Grant agreement ID: 874667

DOI

10.3030/874667

Project closed

EC signature date 25 November 2019

Start date 1 January 2020

End date 31 December 2022

Funded under

• SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Health, demographic change and well-being

Total cost

€ 2 211 538,93

EU contribution

€ 2 152 623,48

Coordinated by

FONDATION MERIEUX
France

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - GloPID-R SEC 2 (GloPID-R Secretariat)

Reporting period: 2021-07-01 to 2022-12-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

GloPID-R, the WHO R&D blueprint and other entities established around the Ebola outbreak in West Africa were relevant to enhance, structure and coordinate the research preparedness and response to epidemics of pandemic potential. Since 2014 great progress has been made in that regard, and since 2020 with the first pandemic the importance of these initiatives has now become obvious to the whole world.
Given the continuing fragmentation of the funding landscape globally leading to a fragmentation of research activities, there is a clear need to improve the efficiency of science funding, especially in the context of preparedness. The limited success of publicly supported clinical trials to return actionable data is a pertinent example of the consequences of this fragmented research support. GloPID-R has the potential to play a central role to improve the coordination of funding across its members and beyond. However, to achieve this aim, GloPID-R future role needs to go beyond its original role as a convener. To this end, the alliance is currently developing practical mechanisms and tools that will offer its members opportunities to engage in concerted actions, such as coordinated funding calls.

Started in January 2020 and ended in December 2022, the GloPID-R Secretariat 2 project was by coincidence implemented along this first pandemic context.
Its overall objectives for 2020-2022 were to:
1. Support the Board and Member for smooth and efficient implementation of operational activities
2. Implement, maintain, and evaluate an effective external communication programme
3. Provide technical and operational support to develop and operationalise GloPID-R's strategy.

Following the publication of the Scientific Advisory Group (SAG) Report in June 2021 (https://www.glopid-r.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/glopid-r-sag-report.pdf) the Secretariat embarked on selected projects to continue GloPID-R´s paradigm shift from a convening to an enabling platform, offering its members (and potentially non-members) practical mechanisms for agreed joint actions facilitated by the Secretariat.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

In response to COVID-19 pandemic, GloPID-R Secretariat and Members have produced a number of significant outputs:
• COVID-19 Response Strategy Coordination meetings to identify research gaps and research priorities
• Active participation in the virtual Global Research and Innovation Fora of the WHO R&D Blueprint.
• COVID-19 Research Synergies meetings convened on a range of themes such as of vaccines, therapeutics, understanding transmission, and social sciences
• Live Research Project Tracker, tracking investments in COVID-19 research against the WHO R&D Blueprint categories to assist in global research response decision making
• COVID CIRCLE, in particular to harness continual mapping and analysis of global COVID-19 funding through the COVID-19 Research Project Tracker
• Long COVID Joint Research Forum, in particular about the clinical, biological, psychological and socio-environmental impact of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19
• GloPID-R members meeting on the new variant of SARS-CoV-2
• COVID-19 Research in LMICs Working Group to identify research gaps and needs across LMICs and organised a virtual meeting on ‘Priorities for COVID-19 research response and preparedness in low-resource settings’, in collaboration with UKCDR and the COVID-19 Clinical research Coalition.
• Social Sciences Working Group which provided significant contributions to the development of the United Nations Research Roadmap for COVID-19 recovery.

Other (non-COVID-19) main achievements for research preparedness:
• Pandemic PACT: based on the success of the COVID-19 Project Tracker GloPID-R developed and refined plans for a more advanced platform covering a wider range of priority pathogens. Its aims to develop and run a continuously innovative tool and associated analytical capacity collating and analysing global funding on high consequence pathogens and epidemic preparedness activities with data that is findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable (FAIR). The overarching goal is to increase efficiency and effectiveness of research responses by researchers and funders during disease outbreaks.
• Clinical Trials: Having tracked the progress of the G7 Charter on Clinical Trials (2021) and the World Health Assembly resolution (2022), GloPID-R set a new strategy which resulted in organising a Funders Forum on Clinical Trials, preparing the Living Funders Roadmap on the Coordination of Clinical Trials proposal that will be endorsed by GloPID-R Members early 2023 before finalisation.
• Development of a new strategy resulting in a Report of GloPID-R's Scientific Advisory Group about COVID-19 research priorities until 2023 and the subsequent GloPID-R Co-Chairs recommendations.
• Regional hub development: the above mentioned new strategy resulted in preparing the development of regional hubs, starting in Asia-Pacific and in Africa with a four-step approach (Regional Advisory Group, Mapping of regional funders, Survey and selected interviews, Regional conference).
• New and improved communication strategy and tools developed and implemented, including a revamped website, a motion design film and active social media activity.
• Governance: All main above achievements were underpinned by intense work on strengthening the governance framework, including an independent report to ascertain GloPID-R´s current value proposition, proposals made to Members on changes and improvements for a revised GloPID-R´s governance, instating a Scientific Advisory Board.
• Extension of the membership, resulted with GloPID-R involving 33 members and 7 Observers as of December 2022 (compared with 28 members and 2 Observers in December 2019).
• One Health: GloPID-R with STAR IDAZ (the International Research Consortium on animal health) have explored and prepared the ground to launch a joint working group in early 2023.
• Joint funding calls: GloPID-R reflected on existing and innovative coordinated funding mechanisms, identified the model experienced by the Global Alliance for Chronic Diseases (GACD) and prepared the ground for opening a first joint call in 2023.
• Contributions from other Working Groups (Research in LMICs; Data sharing; Social Sciences) to enrich the above work achievements (on research priority setting in LMICs; joint funding options; Clinical Trials Funders Roadmap).
• Around 240 main meetings organised along these 3 years to foster and enhance coordination and collaboration among GloPID-R membership and with external stakeholders.
• Successful application for further EU funding of GloPID-R Secretariat for 2023-2025 and preparation of the transfer of the secretariat coordination from its original base at Fondation Mérieux to Charité University Medicine Centre for Global Health starting January 2023.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

N.A.

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