Opportunity profile: Data-driven prize for pandemic protection

Prize fund of £10 million will award creative ideas for harnessing data to combat disease outbreaks

Top tips

• Prizes will be awarded for new ways of making use of data analytics in health emergencies, particularly cross-sector and interdisciplinary ideas
• Ideas that have already been applied or piloted are encouraged, but the field is open and earlier, more fundamental research will be considered
• There is a strong focus on developing systems with a wide geographic focus that support the most vulnerable populations
• Publication records are not important—it’s about the potential for impact

In November the United Nations released a research roadmap for recovery from Covid-19 that said investments in data-driven responses would be critical for moving beyond the pandemic. Two months earlier, an example of just such an investment was announced in a £10 million (€11m) prize fund for harnessing data and analytics to prepare for the next global health emergency before it strikes.