Evidence Submissions & Report
Looking at the long-term societal effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The COVID Decade
Understanding the long-term societal impacts of COVID-19
Evidence report
The British Academy was asked by the Government Office for Science to produce an independent review on the long-term societal impacts of COVID-19. This report outlines the evidence across a range of areas, building upon a series of expert reviews, engagement, synthesis and analysis across the SHAPE research community. It shows that COVID-19 has generated a series of social, economic and cultural effects which will have long-term impacts.
Shaping the COVID Decade
Addressing the long-term societal impacts of COVID-19
Policy report
The British Academy has undertaken the substantial task of beginning to answer the longer-term question about what the societal impacts of COVID-19 will be and how we address them. This report sets out an interrelated set of nine areas of long-term impact, seven strategic policy goals and five key principles of a facilitative policy environment for 2030. We aim here to provide decision-makers with a sense of how to start to respond to these longer-term impacts based on the current evidence, and how to shape the COVID decade.
Evidence submission
The Academy completed an initial scoping phase in September 2020, using insights from the Academy’s Fellowship, our early career researcher community, and external stakeholders, as well as a rapid review of the literature and existing research that is published or underway. This allowed us to prioritise a set of policy areas and cross-cutting themes for deeper exploration.
In this phase of work, we sought engagement with a wider range of individuals and organisations with expertise on the initial policy areas of focus, which are summarised below.
- Health and wellbeing:
- Communities, culture and belonging
- Knowledge, skills and employment
We approached each of these policy areas with these five cross-cutting themes in mind:
- Governance
- Trust
- Cohesion
- Inequalities
- Sustainability
These reports are a rapid response to the British Academy’s call for evidence on the long-term societal effects and impacts of COVID-19.
Policy areas
Physical and mental health (including young people and at work), wellbeing, and the environment we live in.
Accessing healthcare before, during and after the pandemic
Barry Smith, Claire Hopkins, Katherine Whitcroft, Chris Kelly, Duika L Burges Watson & Vincent Deary
School of Advanced Studies, University of London
COVID and Society: an overview of Bennett Institute research
Bennett Institute for Public Policy, University of Cambridge
Evidence submission
Dr William Barylo
University of Warwick
Evidence submission
Professor Tom Shakespeare FBA
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Evidence submission
Professor Pat Thane FBA
King's College London
Health and inequality: the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic
Jennifer B. Dowd, Xuejie Ding, Evelina T. Akimova and Melinda C. Mills FBA
Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science, University of Oxford
Long-term societal implications of COVID-19: mental health
Dörte Bemme, Charlotte Gayer-Anderson, Annie Irvine, Lucy Strang and Nikolas Rose
Centre for Society and Mental Health, King’s College London
Medium and long-term societal effects and impacts of COVID-19
John Bone, Sarah Cant, Judith Mudd, Louise Ryan and Mark Doidge
British Sociological Association
NHS voices of COVID-19
Stephanie Snow, Jolanta Shields and Angela Whitecross
University of Manchester
Rapid evidence review: inequalities in relation to COVID-19 and their effects on London
Professor James Nazroo FBA, Karl Murray, Harry Taylor, Dr Laia Bécares, Yvonne Field, Dr Dharmi Kapadia and Dr Yansie Rolston
University of Sussex; The Ubele Initiative; University of Manchester
Shape the Future: how the social sciences, humanities and the arts can SHAPE a positive, post-pandemic future for peoples, economies and environments
Molly Morgan Jones, Dominic Abrams FBA and Aditi Lahiri FBA
The British Academy
Societal impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic
Nuffield Foundation
The history of public health crises: governance and trust
Dr Alex Mold, Professor Virginia Berridge & Dr Suzanne Taylor for the British Academy
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
The impact of COVID-19 on children and young people and the potential contribution of the arts, humanities and social sciences
Professor Jennifer Richards, Professor James Law, Dr Hazel Sheeky Bird & Dr Rachel White
Newcastle University
What factors make a community more vulnerable to COVID-19?
Dominic Abrams FBA, David J Hand FBA, Anthony Heath FBA, James Nazroo FBA, Lindsay Richards, Saffron Karlsen, Melinda Mills FBA, Charlotte Roberts FBA and Centre for Homelessness Impact
The British Academy
Including communities and civil society, cities and towns, family and kinship, and arts, media, culture, heritage and sport.
COVID 19 and Democracy and Citizen Participation in the UK
Stephen Elstub and Ruth Puttick
Newcastle University
COVID and Society: an overview of Bennett Institute research
Bennett Institute for Public Policy
University of Cambridge
Establishing compassionate and sustainable localism in a post COVID-19 and emerging net zero era
Professor Tim O'Riordan FBA
University of East Anglia
Evidence submission
Dr William Barylo
University of Warwick
Evidence submission
Professor John Curtice FBA
University of Strathclyde / NatCen Social Research
Evidence submission
Professor Geoffrey Hosking FBA
University College London
Evidence submission
Dr Ella Parry-Davies
Royal Central School of Speech and Drama
Evidence submission
Professor Pat Thane FBA
King's College London
Inequalities in education, skills, and incomes in the UK: the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic
Richard Blundell, Jonathan Cribb, Sandra McNally, Ross Warwick & Xiaowei Xu
Institute for Fiscal Studies
Long-term societal implications of COVID-19: mental health
Dörte Bemme, Charlotte Gayer-Anderson, Annie Irvine, Lucy Strang and Nikolas Rose
Centre for Society and Mental Health, King’s College London
Medium and long-term societal effects and impacts of COVID-19
John Bone, Sarah Cant, Judith Mudd, Louise Ryan and Mark Doidge
British Sociological Association
NHS voices of COVID-19
Stephanie Snow, Jolanta Shields and Angela Whitecross
University of Manchester
Rapid review: sustainability
Dr Kevin Grecksch
Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, University of Oxford
Shape the Future: how the social sciences, humanities and the arts can SHAPE a positive, post-pandemic future for peoples, economies and environments
Molly Morgan Jones, Dominic Abrams FBA and Aditi Lahiri FBA
The British Academy
Societal impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic
Nuffield Foundation
The impact of COVID-19 on children and young people and the potential contribution of the arts, humanities and social sciences
Professor Jennifer Richards, Professor James Law, Dr Hazel Sheeky Bird & Dr Rachel White
Newcastle University
The social implications of COVID-19 on communities
Emily Morrison, Jude Fransman & Katriya Bulutoglu
Institute for Community Studies
Trust and cohesion in Britain during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic across place, scale and time
Dr Fanny Lalot, Ben Davies and Professor Dominic Abrams
University of Kent
What are the long-term societal effects of COVID-19?
University of Sheffield
Sarah Price and Vanessa Toulmin
What has happened to trust and cohesion since Tier 4 restrictions and the third national lockdown (December 2020 –March 2021)? Further evidence from national surveys
Professor Dominic Abrams FBA and Dr Fanny Lalot
University of Kent
What factors make a community more vulnerable to COVID-19?
Dominic Abrams FBA, David J Hand FBA, Anthony Heath FBA, James Nazroo FBA, Lindsay Richards, Saffron Karlsen, Melinda Mills FBA, Charlotte Roberts FBA and Centre for Homelessness Impact
The British Academy
Including education (compulsory and post-16), skills, knowledge and research, and work and employment.
COVID and Society: an overview of Bennett Institute research
Bennett Institute for Public Policy, University of Cambridge
COVID-19 sustainability, recovery and decision-making
University of Leeds
Establishing compassionate and sustainable localism in a post COVID-19 and emerging net zero era
Professor Tim O'Riordan FBA
University of East Anglia
Evidence submission
Dr William Barylo
University of Warwick
Evidence submission
Professor John Curtice FBA
University of Strathclyde / NatCen Social Research
Evidence submission
Professor Geoffrey Hosking FBA
University College London
Evidence submission
Professor Pat Thane FBA
King's College London
Health and inequality: the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic
Jennifer B. Dowd, Xuejie Ding, Evelina T. Akimova and Melinda C. Mills FBA
Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science, University of Oxford
Inequalities in education, skills, and incomes in the UK: the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic
Richard Blundell, Jonathan Cribb, Sandra McNally, Ross Warwick & Xiaowei Xu
Institute for Fiscal Studies
Lessons and issues for sub-national government finances post-COVID
David Phillips
Institute for Fiscal Studies
Long-term societal implications of COVID-19: mental health
Dörte Bemme, Charlotte Gayer-Anderson, Annie Irvine, Lucy Strang and Nikolas Rose
Centre for Society and Mental Health, King’s College London
Medium and long-term societal effects and impacts of COVID-19
John Bone, Sarah Cant, Judith Mudd, Louise Ryan and Mark Doidge
British Sociological Association
NHS voices of COVID-19
Stephanie Snow, Jolanta Shields and Angela Whitecross
University of Manchester
Shape the Future: how the social sciences, humanities and the arts can SHAPE a positive, post-pandemic future for peoples, economies and environments
Molly Morgan Jones, Dominic Abrams FBA and Aditi Lahiri FBA
The British Academy
Societal impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic
Nuffield Foundation
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on education
Dr Adrian Zancajo
School of Education, University of Glasgow
What are the long-term societal effects of COVID-19?
University of Sheffield
Sarah Price and Vanessa Toulmin
What factors make a community more vulnerable to COVID-19?
Dominic Abrams FBA, David J Hand FBA, Anthony Heath FBA, James Nazroo FBA, Lindsay Richards, Saffron Karlsen, Melinda Mills FBA, Charlotte Roberts FBA and Centre for Homelessness Impact
The British Academy
Themes
How COVID-19 has affected relationships between national and local actors, accountability for decisions, and freedom of the individual.
Accessing healthcare before, during and after the pandemic
Barry Smith, Claire Hopkins, Katherine Whitcroft, Chris Kelly, Duika L Burges Watson & Vincent Deary
School of Advanced Studies, University of London
COVID 19 and Democracy and Citizen Participation in the UK
Stephen Elstub and Ruth Puttick
Newcastle University
COVID and Society: an overview of Bennett Institute research
Bennett Institute for Public Policy, University of Cambridge
Establishing compassionate and sustainable localism in a post COVID-19 and emerging net zero era
Professor Tim O'Riordan FBA
University of East Anglia
Evidence submission
Dr William Barylo
University of Warwick
Evidence submission
Professor John Curtice FBA
University of Strathclyde / NatCen Social Research
Evidence submission
Professor Geoffrey Hosking FBA
University College London
Inequalities in education, skills, and incomes in the UK: the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic
Richard Blundell, Jonathan Cribb, Sandra McNally, Ross Warwick & Xiaowei Xu
Institute for Fiscal Studies
Lessons and issues for sub-national government finances post-COVID
David Phillips
Institute for Fiscal Studies
Long-term societal implications of COVID-19: mental health
Dörte Bemme, Charlotte Gayer-Anderson, Annie Irvine, Lucy Strang and Nikolas Rose
Centre for Society and Mental Health, King’s College London
NHS voices of COVID-19
Stephanie Snow, Jolanta Shields and Angela Whitecross
University of Manchester
Shape the Future: how the social sciences, humanities and the arts can SHAPE a positive, post-pandemic future for peoples, economies and environments
Molly Morgan Jones, Dominic Abrams FBA and Aditi Lahiri FBA
The British Academy
Societal impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic
Nuffield Foundation
The history of public health crises: governance and trust
Dr Alex Mold, Professor Virginia Berridge & Dr Suzanne Taylor for the British Academy
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
The impact of COVID-19 on children and young people and the potential contribution of the arts, humanities and social sciences
Professor Jennifer Richards, Professor James Law, Dr Hazel Sheeky Bird & Dr Rachel White
Newcastle University
The social implications of COVID-19 on communities
Emily Morrison, Jude Fransman & Katriya Bulutoglu
Institute for Community Studies
Trust and cohesion in Britain during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic across place, scale and time
Dr Fanny Lalot, Ben Davies and Professor Dominic Abrams
University of Kent
What factors make a community more vulnerable to COVID-19?
Dominic Abrams FBA, David J Hand FBA, Anthony Heath FBA, James Nazroo FBA, Lindsay Richards, Saffron Karlsen, Melinda Mills FBA, Charlotte Roberts FBA and Centre for Homelessness Impact
The British Academy
What has happened to trust and cohesion since Tier 4 restrictions and the third national lockdown (December 2020 –March 2021)? Further evidence from national surveys
Professor Dominic Abrams FBA and Dr Fanny Lalot
University of Kent
How COVID-19 has affected society’s relationship with information, data, the media and the role of experts.
COVID and Society: an overview of Bennett Institute research
Bennett Institute for Public Policy, University of Cambridge
Establishing compassionate and sustainable localism in a post COVID-19 and emerging net zero era
Professor Tim O'Riordan FBA
University of East Anglia
Evidence submission
Dr William Barylo
University of Warwick
Evidence submission
Professor John Curtice FBA
University of Strathclyde / NatCen Social Research
Evidence submission
Professor Geoffrey Hosking FBA
University College London
Evidence submission
Dr Ella Parry-Davies
Royal Central School of Speech and Drama
Medium and long-term societal effects and impacts of COVID-19
John Bone, Sarah Cant, Judith Mudd, Louise Ryan and Mark Doidge
British Sociological Association
NHS voices of COVID-19
Stephanie Snow, Jolanta Shields and Angela Whitecross
University of Manchester
Shape the Future: how the social sciences, humanities and the arts can SHAPE a positive, post-pandemic future for peoples, economies and environments
Molly Morgan Jones, Dominic Abrams FBA and Aditi Lahiri FBA
The British Academy
Societal impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic
Nuffield Foundation
The history of public health crises: governance and trust
Dr Alex Mold, Professor Virginia Berridge & Dr Suzanne Taylor for the British Academy
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
The social implications of COVID-19 on communities
Emily Morrison, Jude Fransman & Katriya Bulutoglu
Institute for Community Studie
Trust and cohesion in Britain during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic across place, scale and time
Dr Fanny Lalot, Ben Davies and Professor Dominic Abrams
University of Kent
What factors make a community more vulnerable to COVID-19?
Dominic Abrams FBA, David J Hand FBA, Anthony Heath FBA, James Nazroo FBA, Lindsay Richards, Saffron Karlsen, Melinda Mills FBA, Charlotte Roberts FBA and Centre for Homelessness Impact
The British Academy
What has happened to trust and cohesion since Tier 4 restrictions and the third national lockdown (December 2020 –March 2021)? Further evidence from national surveys
Professor Dominic Abrams FBA and Dr Fanny Lalot
University of Kent
The effect of COVID-19 on relationships within and between communities of people and ideas.
COVID and Society: an overview of Bennett Institute research
Bennett Institute for Public Policy, University of Cambridge
Establishing compassionate and sustainable localism in a post COVID-19 and emerging net zero era
Professor Tim O'Riordan FBA
University of East Anglia
Evidence submission
Professor John Curtice FBA
University of Strathclyde / NatCen Social Research
Evidence submission
Professor Geoffrey Hosking FBA
University College London
Evidence submission
Dr Ella Parry-Davies
Royal Central School of Speech and Drama
Evidence submission
Professor Pat Thane FBA
King's College London
NHS voices of COVID-19
Stephanie Snow, Jolanta Shields and Angela Whitecross
University of Manchester
Shape the Future: how the social sciences, humanities and the arts can SHAPE a positive, post-pandemic future for peoples, economies and environments
Molly Morgan Jones, Dominic Abrams FBA and Aditi Lahiri FBA
The British Academy
Societal impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic
Nuffield Foundation
The impact of COVID-19 on children and young people and the potential contribution of the arts, humanities and social sciences
Professor Jennifer Richards, Professor James Law, Dr Hazel Sheeky Bird & Dr Rachel White
Newcastle University
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on education
Dr Adrian Zancajo
School of Education, University of Glasgow
The social implications of COVID-19 on communities
Emily Morrison, Jude Fransman & Katriya Bulutoglu
Institute for Community Studies
Trust and cohesion in Britain during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic across place, scale and time
Dr Fanny Lalot, Ben Davies and Professor Dominic Abrams
University of Kent
What factors make a community more vulnerable to COVID-19?
Dominic Abrams FBA, David J Hand FBA, Anthony Heath FBA, James Nazroo FBA, Lindsay Richards, Saffron Karlsen, Melinda Mills FBA, Charlotte Roberts FBA and Centre for Homelessness Impact
The British Academy
What has happened to trust and cohesion since Tier 4 restrictions and the third national lockdown (December 2020 –March 2021)? Further evidence from national surveys
Professor Dominic Abrams FBA and Dr Fanny Lalot
University of Kent
The role of COVID-19 in highlighting, ameliorating, causing or exacerbating inequalities.
Accessing healthcare before, during and after the pandemic
Barry Smith, Claire Hopkins, Katherine Whitcroft, Chris Kelly, Duika L Burges Watson & Vincent Deary
School of Advanced Studies, University of London
COVID and Society: an overview of Bennett Institute research
Bennett Institute for Public Policy, University of Cambridge
Establishing compassionate and sustainable localism in a post COVID-19 and emerging net zero era
Professor Tim O'Riordan FBA
University of East Anglia
Evidence submission
Dr William Barylo
University of Warwick
Evidence submission
Professor John Curtice FBA
University of Strathclyde / NatCen Social Research
Evidence submission
Professor Geoffrey Hosking FBA
University College London
Evidence submission
Dr Ella Parry-Davies
Royal Central School of Speech and Drama
Evidence submission
Professor Tom Shakespeare FBA
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Evidence submission
Professor Pat Thane FBA
King's College London
Health and inequality: the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic
Jennifer B. Dowd, Xuejie Ding, Evelina T. Akimova and Melinda C. Mills FBA
Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science, University of Oxford
Inequalities in education, skills, and incomes in the UK: the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic
Richard Blundell, Jonathan Cribb, Sandra McNally, Ross Warwick & Xiaowei Xu
Institute for Fiscal Studies
Long-term societal implications of COVID-19: mental health
Dörte Bemme, Charlotte Gayer-Anderson, Annie Irvine, Lucy Strang and Nikolas Rose
Centre for Society and Mental Health, King’s College London
Medium and long-term societal effects and impacts of COVID-19
John Bone, Sarah Cant, Judith Mudd, Louise Ryan and Mark Doidge
British Sociological Association
NHS voices of COVID-19
Stephanie Snow, Jolanta Shields and Angela Whitecross
University of Manchester
Rapid evidence review: inequalities in relation to COVID-19 and their effects on London
Professor James Nazroo FBA, Karl Murray, Harry Taylor, Dr Laia Bécares, Yvonne Field, Dr Dharmi Kapadia and Dr Yansie Rolston
University of Sussex; The Ubele Initiative; University of Manchester
Shape the Future: how the social sciences, humanities and the arts can SHAPE a positive, post-pandemic future for peoples, economies and environments
Molly Morgan Jones, Dominic Abrams FBA and Aditi Lahiri FBA
The British Academy
Societal impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic
Nuffield Foundation
The impact of COVID-19 on children and young people and the potential contribution of the arts, humanities and social sciences
Professor Jennifer Richards, Professor James Law, Dr Hazel Sheeky Bird & Dr Rachel White
Newcastle University
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on education
Dr Adrian Zancajo
School of Education, University of Glasgow
The social implications of COVID-19 on communities
Emily Morrison, Jude Fransman & Katriya Bulutoglu
Institute for Community Studies
What are the long-term societal effects of COVID-19?
University of Sheffield
Sarah Price and Vanessa Toulmin
What factors make a community more vulnerable to COVID-19?
Dominic Abrams FBA, David J Hand FBA, Anthony Heath FBA, James Nazroo FBA, Lindsay Richards, Saffron Karlsen, Melinda Mills FBA, Charlotte Roberts FBA and Centre for Homelessness Impact
The British Academy
How COVID-19 has affected the way we think about, and the importance we attribute to, issues of sustainability.
COVID-19 sustainability, recovery and decision-making
University of Leeds
Medium and long-term societal effects and impacts of COVID-19
John Bone, Sarah Cant, Judith Mudd, Louise Ryan and Mark Doidge
British Sociological Association
Rapid review: sustainability
Dr Kevin Grecksch
Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, University of Oxford
Shape the Future: how the social sciences, humanities and the arts can SHAPE a positive, post-pandemic future for peoples, economies and environments
Molly Morgan Jones, Dominic Abrams FBA and Aditi Lahiri FBA
The British Academy
‘Shaping the COVID Decade’, explained in two minutes
23 Mar 2021 Professor Dominic Abrams FBA
The key points from our reports on understanding and addressing the COVID decade, summarised in just two minutes.
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