RAMP Continuity Network: Scientific Meetings, Rapid Review Group, and Policy Support for COVID-19
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Cambridge
Department Name: Applied Maths and Theoretical Physics
Abstract
Since its inception in late March, RAMP (Rapid Assistance in Modelling the Pandemic) has initiated many new projects and activities and involved in COVID-19 research several hundred scientists whose skill sets complement those of the traditional epidemic modelling community. The majority of substantive new research projects have sought or will seek individual continuity support from UKRI and can also draw on data support, discussion forums infrastructure, and central admin at Edinburgh funded already by UKRI (PI: Ackland). The current proposal is to sustain and add value to RAMP's new research ecosystem, and enhance its connectivity to other COVID-19 research activities across the UK, by funding continuation of key RAMP activities for a further 18 months in the following areas. (i) Scientific networking, to include discussion meetings, study groups, and workshops involving RAMP, SPI-M and other teams; these events organized primarily via the Isaac Newton Institute. (ii) RAMP's Rapid Review Group, based at Oxford, which scrutinizes outputs and reports (from RAMP, SPI-M, third parties and the open literature) so as to better inform Government and its advice channels. (iii) Policy work staffed by the Royal Society to ensure the scientific outputs of RAMP and others land correctly within Government to maximize their policy value.
Publications
Sachak-Patwa R
(2021)
The risk of SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks in low prevalence settings following the removal of travel restrictions.
in Communications medicine
Leng T
(2022)
The effect of notification window length on the epidemiological impact of COVID-19 contact tracing mobile applications.
in Communications medicine
Dangerfield CE
(2023)
Getting the most out of maths: How to coordinate mathematical modelling research to support a pandemic, lessons learnt from three initiatives that were part of the COVID-19 response in the UK.
in Journal of theoretical biology
Ackland GJ
(2022)
Fitting the reproduction number from UK coronavirus case data and why it is close to 1.
in Philosophical transactions. Series A, Mathematical, physical, and engineering sciences
Dykes J
(2022)
Visualization for epidemiological modelling: challenges, solutions, reflections and recommendations.
in Philosophical transactions. Series A, Mathematical, physical, and engineering sciences
Libkind S
(2022)
An algebraic framework for structured epidemic modelling.
in Philosophical transactions. Series A, Mathematical, physical, and engineering sciences
Swallow B
(2022)
Tracking the national and regional COVID-19 epidemic status in the UK using weighted principal component analysis.
in Philosophical transactions. Series A, Mathematical, physical, and engineering sciences
Mitchell SN
(2022)
FAIR data pipeline: provenance-driven data management for traceable scientific workflows.
in Philosophical transactions. Series A, Mathematical, physical, and engineering sciences
Ackland GJ
(2022)
The Royal Society RAMP modelling initiative.
in Philosophical transactions. Series A, Mathematical, physical, and engineering sciences
| Description | The award succeeded in maintaining the momentum created by hundreds of highly trained scientists who volunteered under the RAMP initiative (Rapid assistance for Modelling the Pandemic) to spend at least part of their time on work relating directly to Covid-19. Through a series of workshops attended by these new recruits to the field, and also the specialists already responsible for advising the Government, many scientific projects were accelerated, significantly speeding the pace of scientific discovery across broad areas including environmental and aerosol transmission, spatial modelling, vaccination strategies, and impacts on specific settings such as retail, transport, schools, hospitality, sporting events etc.. Many of these workshops produced specific reports that are available online. Results of possible relevance for policy, alongside others from outside the RAMP pool of scientists, were then scrutinized and reviewed for quality by the RAMP Rapid Review Team and major specific advances (whatever the source) brought to the attention of the Government advice channels. Working with the policy team at the Royal Society, we also merged RAMP scientific outcomes with other important sources of information to maintain the quality of scientific advice received by the Government despite the extraordinary speed with which the science was developing during the pandemic. The Rapid Review Team was working hardest at the start of the grant; by the end, new Government structures were in place to perform this role. Towards the end we also set up new outreach initiatives proposed by early-career academics. |
| Exploitation Route | The scientific work that RAMP promoted and accelerated through its series of fifteen or more workshops is by now already consolidated into the scientific literature. Work from six virtual study group events concerned the Covid-19 response in relation specific industrial and educational sectors, and was disseminated to end-users through a series of reports available online (https://www.vkemsuk.org/activities/virtual-study-groups). |
| Sectors | Education,Healthcare,Leisure Activities, including Sports, Recreation and Tourism,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections,Retail,Transport |
| Description | The findings from six virtual study group events have been delivered as influential reports to the businesses and industries (and local authorities) directly participating and disseminated more widely across sectors, especially transport, entertainment, sporting events and education. The findings from eight academic workshops co-organied with the JUNIPER collaboration fed directly into the deliberations of SPI-M and related government working groups providing science based advice directly to government, particularly in the following areas: Virus evolution; virus generation time; behavioural modelling; vaccination strategies;uncer asymptomatic testing; socio-economic determinants of Covid-19. The findings from seven further academic workshops have also fed into the wider scientific discussions around Covid-19 response and informed SPI-M deliberations (in many cases SPI-M members were present at these events), particularly in the following areas: Aerosol transmission; spatial models of the pandemic; uncertainty quantification; controlling Covid-19 in schools; modelling to support resilience. The one-day wrapup event (June 2022) at the Royal Society was attended by Sir Patrick Vallance who chaired the round-table policy discussion. John Aston (then CSA at the Home Office) was also on the panel. Rapid-review analyses of third-party publications have also been provided to SPI-M and others in the Government advice stream. Note: the above figure of 8 workshops held jointly with the JUNIPER consortium updates the previous figure of 3 workshops quoted in the section on collaboration with them (which is 'not currently editable'). |
| First Year Of Impact | 2021 |
| Sector | Education,Healthcare,Leisure Activities, including Sports, Recreation and Tourism,Government, Democracy and Justice,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections,Retail,Transport |
| Impact Types | Economic,Policy & public services |
| Description | Policy Landing Work at the Royal Society |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| Impact | Because this activity fed into the broader policy activities of the Royal Society (as the UK National Academy) it informing the science-based decisions being made across government, at speed, as the pandemic evolved. However, since the Royal Society's contributions had several strands that merged to form its advice to government, it is not possible to identify individual outcomes specific to RAMP. |
| URL | https://royalsociety.org/science-events-and-lectures/2022/06/ramp/ |
| Description | RAMP Rapid Review |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Implementation circular/rapid advice/letter to e.g. Ministry of Health |
| Impact | The value of RAMP Rapid Review to SPI-M was attested by SPI-M members at several public events, including the Royal Society's workshop on 'Modelling the Covid-19 Pandemic: Achievements and Lessons' held 13/06/2022. However, due to the extraordinarly pace of events during the pandemic, SPI-M did not keep paper-trails of the influence of RAMP-reviewed papers so specific policy outcomes cannot be identified individually. |
| Description | Policy landing work at the Royal Society |
| Organisation | The Royal Society |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | RAMP funds a staff member in the RS policy team. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The RS provide vast expertise in policy work which the RAMP-funded staff member can tap into |
| Impact | N/A |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | Virtual Study Group Meeting hosted by ICMS |
| Organisation | International Centre for Mathematical Sciences (ICMS) |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Joint organization of virtual study group meetings |
| Collaborator Contribution | Joint organization of virtual study group meetings |
| Impact | V-KEMS report, Covid 19 Safety in Large Events produced its final report downloadable at https://gateway.newton.ac.uk/event/tgm101 |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | Modelling the Covid-19 Pandemic: Achievements and lessons |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | This all-day event held at the Royal Society, brought together the wide community of modelling scientists involved in the COVID-19 pandemic response to celebrate their contributions. The first part of the day consisted of a series of talks by early career researchers across modelling disciplines relevant to the pandemic response, which include not only epidemic modelling but also work on air-flow, human behaviour and other topics. This was followed by a policy-focused panel discussion explored the lessons from the pandemic for how the scientific community can respond to future emergencies. In the evening, there was a series of public talks which provided an overview on epidemiological modelling, the factors that influence virus transmission and the path between science and policy. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://royalsociety.org/science-events-and-lectures/2022/06/ramp/ |
| Description | Post-Covid Economic Recovery Scoping Meeting: Hospitality and Tourism |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | The meeting had a series of short presentations that outlined the issues and problems that have been exacerbated post-COVID-19. Presentations were by: • ONS • Shakespeare's Globe • Visit Somerset • Traveltech for Scotland. Facilitated breakout discussions highlighted: • As would be expected H+T has been hard hit by COVID both in audience numbers and also in losing staff, with big drops especially in the younger staff. The ONS data was very clear on this. • H+T is also being impacted a lot by changes in travel, with more people working at home and also a reduction in long distance travel. • There has been a huge rise in the use of the internet due to COVID which has dramatically changed the way that H+T operated, with much shorter lead time for bookings. This has rapidly accelerated a trend over recent years. This is going to lead to many more, but different opportunities. • There is a lot of data around, which means that machine learning approaches are becoming increasingly important. Opportunities for further engagement were highlighted to the 4 stakeholders. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Recovery from the Pandemic: Communities for an Ageing Society -- Virtual Study Group |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Patients, carers and/or patient groups |
| Results and Impact | This VSG considered what we can learn from these documented challenges and how we can design the provision of healthcare services in the future to support an ageing society. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://gateway.newton.ac.uk/sites/default/files/asset/doc/2206/V_KEMS_Ageing_Society%20V1%20Issue%2... |
| Description | Recovery from the Pandemic: Transport Logistics - Virtual Study Group |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | The aim of this event was to bring together those working in mathematical modelling, statistics, operations research, logistics and supply chain management and other disciplines together to solve end user defined challenges in transport logistics. Areas thar have caused impact and were explored were COVID, climate change and the change in regulations at borders. The following challenges were presented to the study group: • Trustworthiness at the border, • Delivering Shore Power |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://gateway.newton.ac.uk/sites/default/files/asset/doc/2208/Transport%20Logistics%20Virtual%20St... |
| Description | The Public Perception of Science - Virtual Study Group |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | This event aimed to bring mathematical scientists and other disciplines together to solve end user defined challenges with the aim of addressing the issues associated with the public perception of science. The presenters and challenge areas were: • Trustworthy Communication - Winton Centre • Communicating Mathematics - The Times • Misinformation - Office for Statistics Regulation |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://gateway.newton.ac.uk/sites/default/files/asset/doc/2210/The%20Public%20Perception%20of%20Sci... |
| Description | Virtual Study Group - COVID-19 Safety in large events 13-15 Aug 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Virtual Study Group - COVID-19 Safety in large events 13-15 Aug. This three-day virtual study group was hosted by ICMS and delivered by V-KEMS and explored the challenges related to the delivery of Large Events during the COVID-19 pandemic. 40 participants (including 5 industry and 3 public). V-KEMS report, Covid 19 Safety in Large Events Lyndsey Jackson, Deputy CEO Edinburgh Fringe said "Thank you for this - it's going to be hugely helpful in supporting performers to engage with crowds safely, and the key advice is both digestible and useful!" KTN News article on this: https://ktn-uk.org/news/covid-19-safety-in-large-events-using-mathematical-sciences/ Plus magazine news article: https://plus.maths.org/content/keeping-people-safe-large-events |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://gateway.newton.ac.uk/sites/default/files/asset/doc/2109/COVID19%20Safety%20in%20Large%20Even... |
| Description | Virtual Study Group - Post Covid19 Recovery: Communities of the Future |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | This study group looked at supporting Local Authorities and 2 challenges were explored - Supporting Local Authorities, Landlords and Tenants in Preventing Homelessness Post Covid-19 and Supporting Local Authorities, Businesses and High-Streets Post Covid-19. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://gateway.newton.ac.uk/sites/default/files/asset/doc/2202/VSG13_COMMUNITIES_OF_THE_FUTURE.pdf |
| Description | Virtual Study Group - hospitality and leisure, 12-14 Oct. 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | This three-day virtual study group was developed and hosted by the Newton Gateway and delivered by V-KEMS. It brought mathematical scientists and other disciplines together to solve challenges faced by the hospitality and leisure sector as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. 50 participants including 9 from industry. The Virtual study group on Hospitality resulted in five tailored short reports have been supplied to UK Hospitality, University of Cambridge Sports Centre, Royal Opera House, Shakespeare's Globe and Independent Cinema Office. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |