Strategy
Overview
Pandemics are one of humanity’s greatest challenges, with COVID-19 causing an estimated US$16 trillion in economic losses and 14.9m excess deaths worldwide. Whilst future pandemics are inevitable, analyses show that a strong pandemic defence system might reduce the risk of another pandemic in the next ten years from 27% to 8%.
With the right support, we have seen that science can play a critical role in delivering solutions to protect humanity from existential pandemic threats. During COVID-19, the University of Oxford discovered the world’s first life-saving treatments and developed one of the world’s most widely used vaccines. Such investments in global health research innovation are proven to give exceptional returns: $405 in societal value for every $1 invested.
The Pandemic Sciences Institute is a global hub where the world’s finest scientists work together to forge a safer world through science.
Our vision is a world where people and societies are better protected from infectious diseases.
Our mission is to discover, create, and enable practical solutions to infectious disease threats worldwide.
Our strategic goals
We are delivering our mission through three core strategic goals:
Discover: Improve the understanding of infectious diseases: their biology, behaviour, and impact, from the molecular to the population level, in animals and in humans.
Create: Develop practical solutions by creating acceptable and equitable non-pharmaceutical interventions, developing new vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics, and generating evidence to create new policy and ethical frameworks.
Enable: Translate research into real world benefits globally, including through strengthening global clinical trials capabilities, by optimising the design and delivery of pandemic research, preparedness and response, including by exploring the ethical, social and political dimensions of trust, confidence and resilience.
These are supported by two cross cutting goals focussed on building capacity and capability both within the PSI and more broadly:
People: Build a diverse and inclusive institute and develop the next generation of researchers and science leaders globally.
Partnerships: Build equitable and collaborative partnerships and networks to enhance global capability to respond to infectious disease threats.