Mitigating losses: how scientific organisations can help address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on early-career researchers

Despite a lack of early coordinated responses at national and multinational levels (Colglazier, 2020 ), the global emergence of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic promoted unprecedented cooperative actions on the science-policy, science-communication, and science-diplomacy interfaces. With varying degrees of success, various actions within the realm of science diplomacy have accompanied the creation of knowledge related to COVID-19 through international collaboration ( Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator ( 2021 ), COVID-19 Vaccine Tracker and Landscape , ( 2021 ); Hadfield et al., 2018 ; Zhou et al., 2020 ) Footnote 1 . The COVID-19 pandemic brought the world to a standstill and also drew attention to the need for science diplomacy (Gore et al., 2020 ; Here’s How “science Diplomacy” Can Help Us Contain COVID-19 (2021), New frontiers in science diplomacy, 2010 ; Pisupati, 2019 ), which refers to the use of scientific collaborations among nations to address common problems and to build international partnerships. This pandemic highlighted the need for researchers to be prepared to interact at the interface of diplomacy and policy, as well as science communication. Indeed, scientists need to be able to communicate their scientific knowledge (and the uncertainty attached to it) on public health issues to policymakers and to general audiences, helping the understanding of the advice and guidelines provided by international organisations of experts (i.e., the World Health Organisation, WHO). Then, the continuously changing scientific information can be better understood and accepted, and thus, used for measures during and after the pandemic. The participation of regional or national scientists, including early (and middle) career researchers (ECRs), during decisions, and in science communication activities with the public could increase the understanding and trust on science and on measures based on scientific evidence. The general population reacts better to scientists with similar language and culture, that they could feel related to. However, to do this, it is necessary to create or strengthen specific platforms for experts to interact with decision-makers at the national and international levels, especially in the Global South. While there are some platforms for such nexus, the Global South needs representation of their own scientists in the expert panels, as well as representation of disciplines that were not as involved in health advice before the pandemic.