Policy Scotland supported a wide range of researchers and organisations to share urgently needed insights into public policy emergencies arising from coronavirus COVID-19, and facilitating collaborative projects to connect University of Glasgow researchers with local, national and international responses.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) created crises for individuals, families, communities, cities, regions and nations. Firstly there were the crises in public health – containing and eliminating the virus – and the economic and social crises caused by disrupted patterns of living and working. Beyond that lay a ‘rethinking and reconstruction phase’ in which social, economic and policy structures for the future might be altered, both to deal with post-crisis circumstances and potentially shifting beliefs about the roles of individuals, communities and governments.

Urgently needed insights

Policy Scotland ran project to develop the urgently needed insights required in the following policy areas:

• Community resilience and addressing disadvantage
• City economies
• Education, children and families
• Housing and infrastructure