Project R-14518

The Belgian Pandemic Intelligence Network (BE-PIN) (Research)

BE-PIN sets the scientific and organisational foundations for a multidisciplinary, collaborative intelligence network in Belgium capable of addressing future pandemic and epidemic risks. The project will work towards better access to data, more advanced analytical capacities, and tailored tools providing important insights for decision-making and communication at federal and regional levels. The project will identify the current gaps in data preparedness, validation and interpretation and provide the epidemic intelligence network with practical and technical guidelines towards a federal data collection protocol. In direct support of policy makers, the project will establish an advanced analytical and modelling framework that generates the up-to-date epidemiological information they need for policy development, communication and justification. BE-PIN further contributes to a comprehensive theoretical framework for evidence-based pandemic management in the Belgian context and to the feasibility of quantifying carefully selected impact indicators. Moreover, a retrospective assessment of the economic impact and recommendations based thereon will be made to minimise this impact for future pandemics. Lessons learned from the communication practices for knowledge transfer during the COVID-19 crisis and the analysis of the visibility of (scientific) expertise in government communication, the press and social media, as opposed to misinformation and disinformation, will lead to recommendations for effective knowledge brokering. Finally, the governance of such a network will be investigated, more importantly the organisation of it and the legal operation. Throughout the project, stakeholder engagement, co-creation, international benchmarking and the anticipation of various pathogens and epidemic scenarios will be the main pathways to improved preparedness capacity.

01 December 2023 - 01 March 2027