4Sciences worked as part of an international team, led by Research Consulting, commissioned by Wellcome to examine how pathogen genomic surveillance during the Covid-19 crisis was affected by local research environments. Focussing on Wellcome-funded genome sequencing projects, the report analyses experiences of researchers, research managers and other stakeholders involved in the project delivery and uptake cycles.
The project was conducted through a two-stage approach including a pilot-phase and subsequent in-depth analysis of a wider range of projects. The project had three main objectives:
- to analyse the pathway from sample collection, sample sequencing and data analysis to policy uptake;
- to uncover hidden processes and pressures affecting research teams during emergencies;
- and to identify practical solutions for context-specific challenges faced by researchers across diverse global and institutional settings to aid future decision making in emergency scenarios.
The evaluation involved an extensive consultation over 18 months with 125 participants across eight Wellcome-funded projects throughout Africa, Latin America and Asia, with both in-person and online interviews and focus groups with award holders. This was supplemented with a desk research review and interviews with community engagement and Wellcome staff. Findings were synthesised via thematic analysis and presented to Wellcome as a report and two recommendations project workshops.
4Sciences supported the conceptual project design, qualitative and quantitative methodology development as well as data collection and analysis with a particular focus on the MENA region.
Report link: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15260882