Summary
The ‘SHAPE the Future – Resilience, recovery and renewal report provides a synthesis of the relevant evidence from within the Academy’s research networks on the state of play five years on from the publication of ‘Covid Decade’. We have drawn upon relevant Academy-funded research and policy work alongside the knowledge and insights of our Fellowship.
To help build the evidence base for this report, in 2025 the British Academy opened a call for evidence which sought engagement with a wide range of individuals and organisations with expertise on relevant public policy areas. The details of this call for evidence can be found here: (Link to ‘SHAPE the Future: Call for evidence’ page)
Submissions to the British Academy’s call for evidence which informed the analysis for this report have been compiled into the document which can be downloaded at the top of this page.
The Public Policy team would also like to acknowledge the insights drawn from the following research projects awarded as part of a separate British Academy funding scheme on 'Pandemic Preparedness: Lessons to Learn from COVID-19 Across the G7':
- ‘Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic for IP Licensing Practices in Vaccine Production’ - Professor Duncan Matthews, Queen Mary University of London; Professor Ken Shadlen, The London School of Economics and Political Science; Professor Esther van Zimmeran, University of Antwerp; Dr Żaneta Zemła-Pacud, Polish Academy of Sciences; Professor Timo Minssen, University of Copenhagen
- ‘Digital Technologies Resilience Framework for Pandemics: Lessons Learned from COVID-19' - Dr Michael Dzandu, University of Westminster; Professor Sergio De Cesare, University of Westminster; Professor Yinshan Tang, University of Reading; Professor Richard Evans, Dalhousie University
- ‘Pandemic Preparedness in the Live Performing Arts: Lessons to Learn from COVID-19' - Professor Pascale Aebischer, University of Exeter; Dr Karen Gray, University of Bristol; Dr Kelsey Jacobson, Queen's University, Canada; Professor Barbara Fuchs, University of California, Los Angeles - UCLA
- ‘Adaptable Cities, Pandemic Mitigation and Crisis Preparedness’ - Professor Lauren Andres, University College London; Professor Marcus Zepf, Université Paris-Est; Professor Aya Sakai Tokyo City University
- ‘Approaches and Experiences of ‘Community Engagement’ for Pandemic Preparedness in Superdiverse Urban Areas in the G7: The Case of Marseille, London and Cleveland’ - Professor Santiago Ripoll, Institute of Development Studies; Dr Ashley Ouvrier, Laboratoire de Sciences Sociales Appliquées; Dr Megan Schmidt-Sane, Institute of Development Studies; Ms Tabitha Hrynick, Institute of Development Studies
- ‘Planning for Pandemics: Income Support and Job Retention Schemes in G7 Countries and Evolution of Economic and Health Inequality’ - Professor Aditya Goenka, University of Birmingham; Professor Christoph Görtz, University of Birmingham
- ‘Assessing the Drivers and Consequences of 'Multi-Level' States' Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic in the G7’ - Dr Simon Toubeau, University of Nottingham; Dr Hanna Kleider, King’s College London; Professor Francesco Palermo University of Verona.