COVINFORM

COVINFORM, implemented in November 2020 sought to assess the risk management of COVID-19 as it was in the making. Until October 2023, researchers from eleven EU and non-EU countries collaborated and collectively reached the joint objectives, which we would like to take the opportunity to highlight here.  

A brief recap:

The COVINFORM initiative was established in November 2020 in response to the unprecedented experiences of individuals and communities with the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). To this end, a consortium of 16 partner organisations was set up, encompassing a diverse set of university researchers, practitioners, decision-makers, and SMEs, stretching across eleven countries. Partners, apart from SYNYO, included Magen David Adom in Isreal, Samur Proteccion Civil and the Rey Juan Carlos University in Spain, Università Cattolica Del Sacro Cuore and the Sapienza University of Rome in Italy, Sinus Markt- und Sozialforschung GmbH in Germany, Trilateral Research LTD located in the UK and Ireland, Kentro Meleton Asfaleias – Center for Security Studies in Greece, Factor Social Consultoria in Portugal, the Austrian and Romanian Red Cross, the Media Diversity Institute in the UK, the University of Antwerp in Belgium, Swansea University in the UK and the Gotenburg University in Sweden.

Given the novelty of the government, public health, and citizen and community responses to the pandemic, COVINFORM was strongly research-oriented and sought to assess the impacts of managing the pandemic in order to develop inclusive crisis communication principles to elicit behavioural change and combat misinformation. From this, solutions, guidelines, and recommendations were developed which can be utilised in times of future crises. Furthermore, the COVINFORM consortium produced a number of interesting and insightful outputs that are also available and understandable for non-experts on the topic of COVID-19, crisis and risk communication or management. COVINFORM aimed to produce a number of engaging outputs that were targeted at practitioners and the general public.

Objective 1: Risk Assessment Model to Evaluate the Response and Impact at Different Geographical Levels

The first objective focused on creating a risk assessment model to evaluate the response and impact at different geographical levels. To this end, studies on COVID-19 were reviewed to identify relevant quantitative and qualitative indicators, data sources, and models. The data was then geo-spatially mapped and analysed to understand how different levels of government across the EU27 responded to the COVID-19 outbreak and how they dealt with particularly vulnerable groups. To make the collected data accessible and understandable, it was transferred to a cloud-based interactive dashboard that displays the different geospatial layers.

Objective 2: Government responses and impact assessment

To understand the particular circumstances per country, affecting the COVID-19 risk management and communication, government responses were evaluated and their respective impacts assessed thoroughly. The COVINFORM consortium successfully conducted desk-based research to describe government structures and responses at the national level in the 15 project target countries, and at the regional/local level in selected sub-national research sites and case studies. This was followed by expert interviews with government stakeholders and policy experts to clarify misconceptions and outstanding issues. This enabled the consortium to conduct an in-depth analysis of key dimensions of government responses in relation to the following key issues: pandemic planning and preparedness; government approaches to vulnerability; responses at different levels of government; economic and social welfare responses; and socio-political, legal and ethical factors influencing government responses.

Objective 3: Public Health responses and impact assessment

In a next step, COVINFORM focused on the description of the public health system, particularly in regard to health inequality and vulnerability, including long-term care facilities, in the 15 project target countries. Empirical research in the form of interviews was carried out to understand how healthcare workers, public health policymakers and decision-makers, and potentially other stakeholders managed and mitigated the risk of COVID-19 during the pandemic. In further steps, research findings were analysed and synthesised to create a holistic understanding of public health responses and impacts.

Objective 4: Citizen and community responses and impact assessment

COVINFORM also sought to understand how citizens and the community responded to the COVID-19 pandemic, and its respective management and therefore assessed its impact on the citizens themselves. Community structures and stakeholder networks, local implementations and impacts of governmental responses, and voluntary and citizen-led responses in selected sub-national research sites in the 15 project target countries were assessed. Primary empirical research among community-level stakeholders and community members in selected sub-national research sites was performed to assess the key dimensions of impact in the project target countries.

Objective 5: Inclusive COVID-19 communication for behaviour change and addressing misinformation

The final area of analysis was the inclusivity of the COVID-19 communication and the spread of misinformation. To this end, communication strategies and practices of governments and public health authorities were assessed and described on a national, as well as sub-national level. To substantiate our desk-based research, field research was carried out in the form of expert interviews with governmental stakeholders and policy experts in ten sub-national research sites. Tools and measures for the prevention of misinformation, disinformation, ‘fake news’ and conspiracy theories were derived from the analysis.

Objective 6: Development of solutions, guidelines and recommendations as well as dissemination

For experts and stakeholders

Based on the primary empirical research conducted in several work packages, policy recommendations and briefs were developed and disseminated to relevant stakeholder networks. These shall ensure future crises to be managed better, in terms of the public health responses, citizen and community responses as well as the governmental responses and the management of misinformation. The policy briefs are based on best practice examples and shortcomings extrapolated from the case studies analysed in regard to COVID-19 risk communication and management.

To disseminate these policy recommendations, COVINFORM organised a workshop and dissemination activities to which high-level policy-makers – such as the Swedish Corona Commission – were invited. The workshop provided an opportunity to discuss ongoing research, lessons learned and the results of the project.

For practitioners and the general public

For those who aren’t experts in the field, COVINFORM decided to create blogposts. Due to their high frequency, we were able to address a wide array of subjects, including mental health, vaccination, the management and mitigation of vulnerabilities exacerbated by the pandemic, as well as gender inequalities and governmental responses to COVID-19. Several blog posts were also dedicated to specific themes that emerged during the pandemic in the countries analysed such as Romania, Austria, Germany, Spain, Wales, Italy, Belgium, Sweden, UK, and  Israel. In addition, memes that started to circulate in the course of the pandemic and that criticized measures expressed fear and were a ‘source of escapist satire’ found their way into our posts, too. Finally, the project also dedicated a blog post to the spread of conspiracy theories.

Another output was our podcast series “Beyond Numbers: Covid19 and Society”, comprising five episodes of approximately 40 to 45 minutes. In each episode, a conversation unfolded discussing core themes of our project.

The COVINFORM project had decided to publish regular bi-monthly reports in order to engage with a broader non-academic audience. Given the prevalence of conspiracy theories and fake news surrounding the COVID-19 vaccination, the first two bi-monthly reports had focussed on the vaccine, linking it with a brief history of pandemics and vaccinations in general. To combat misinformation, the report provided a summary of relevant sources of information for the public and included a case study example of Spain to discuss potential challenges public bodies might face in implementing the vaccination implementation program.

For our academic audience

To ensure our findings are taken up by an academic audience as well, COVINFORM produced a number of scientific publications, but also white papers, technical reports and factsheets.

Links

https://www.covinform.eu/

Keywords

COVID-19, risk management, project finalization, outputs