European funding shifts, a senior UK medical official resigns, and more
Research Professional News is tracking funding agency responses to the Covid-19 pandemic. Read our articles on the changes being made by European research agencies and UK biomed and non-biomed funders.
Europe
Changes to the European Commission’s proposal for the EU’s 2021-27 budget, intended to help the bloc recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, could include a focus on research, Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has indicated.
The European Commission is hosting and supporting several ‘hackathons’—problem-solving events in which participants work together competitively or collaboratively on defined tasks—to help governments, companies, civil society and individual innovators work together to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic. And an EU-funded programme that supports clinical trials partnerships between Europe and Africa is offering at least €4.75 million for Covid-19 research in sub-Saharan Africa.
University lecturers and researchers in Denmark are largely coping with working from home due to the coronavirus lockdown, but those with children are struggling, according to a survey.
Five government agencies in Ireland have teamed up to launch two research calls for projects trying to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic.
Worldwide
The World Health Organization is coordinating a global study that will attempt to build up a picture of how many people have been infected with the Covid-19 coronavirus.
UK
The chief medical officer for Scotland, Catherine Calderwood, resigned on 5 April after it emerged that she had not been following official guidance on not travelling away from home during the coronavirus pandemic, and prime minister Boris Johnson has been admitted to hospital with Covid-19.
Keir Starmer called for “openness and transparency” during the coronavirus crisis as he was elected leader of the Labour Party. In an opinion piece for Research Professional News, Chris Tyler and David Rose describe how researchers can help parliament do its job.
Welsh universities are stepping up to help the NHS during the coronavirus crisis, with offers of vital equipment, training and accommodation.
Australia
Australia’s leading peer-reviewed medical journal has launched a rapid online publication process for Covid-19 research papers and is providing free public access to these studies.
New Zealand
Almost 30 per cent of New Zealanders have no connection to the internet and will be excluded from digital updates on Covid-19 control measures, according to a senior government official.