COVID-19 research database
In response to COVID-19, New Zealand’s research, science and innovation sector is undertaking research activity.
On this page
To make sure the sector is well coordinated, able to share ideas and work together, the New Zealand Research Information System team is coordinating a central source of data about COVID-19 research and funding. If you’re a New Zealand-based researcher or funder working in the COVID-19 space, please get in touch with us at nzris@mbie.govt.nz and we’ll let you know how you can submit data about your research project to the database.
The database is updated regularly as more researchers and funders submit their data. This version was updated on Friday, 28 August 2020. It includes 6 updates, 1 update to an existing funding record and 5 new records - 3 research activity records and 2 funding records. The total number of records is now 234 (166 research activity records and 68 funding records).
New Zealand’s COVID-19 research response
MBIE’s Science and Innovation team has also produced a COVID-19 research response report. This report analyses external bibliometric data as well as the research activity and funding recorded in the database to provide insights into New Zealand’s research response.
New Zealand's COVID-19 research response [PDF 253KB]
Key insights from the report include:
- The COVID-19 pandemic has increased New Zealand researchers’ use of open access publications to ensure that their research is widely and rapidly accessible to a global public audience.
- While the majority of the research published has focussed on public health and clinical science, the non-medical research has focussed on tourism, psychology and policy. This reflects the research projects identified in the COVID-19 Research Database where many are specifically looking the effects of lockdown on mental health and well-being of people of all ages and the impact of the government response and how this may impact recovery.
- There are indicators of on-going collaboration between researchers despite the impact of lockdown. This has been shown through cross-disciplinary research and support for early stage researchers to start their publishing careers.
- Universities have led the COVID-19 research programme for New Zealand. Based on published research and the research activity identified in the COVID-19 Research Database, The University of Auckland has been a key leader in this work.
To keep up to date with COVID-19 research data, subscribe to our newsletter and you will be notified each time the database is updated. We also send out less regular updates on the progress of the NZRIS programme.
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Background
The New Zealand Research Information System (NZRIS) team, based at MBIE, is undertaking this work on behalf of the research, science and innovation sector. The data collected aligns with standards set by NZRIS, so that once NZRIS is up and running, the COVID-19 related research data can be incorporated into NZRIS.
Data is provided by researchers and organisations. This means that the data in this spreadsheet belongs to the researchers and organisations who have submitted it. The NZRIS team is simply coordinating the collection of the data so that it is easy to find in one place. As it contains information provided voluntarily by researchers and organisations willing to share details on their work, it is by no means comprehensive. Some fields may be blank either because the data was not available or the submitter chose not to provide it. Note that MBIE is not responsible for the accuracy of the data, and we will direct enquiries about specific research activities to the organisation or researcher that provided the data.
The initial database was developed and supported by Universities New Zealand. Universities New Zealand, research funders such as the Health Research Council, and key government agencies such as the Ministry of Health and Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet are all supporting this work.
How to include your data
If you’re a researcher undertaking COVID-19 related research, or you’re an organisation funding COVID-19 related research, we’d love to hear from you.
Get in touch with us at nzris@mbie.govt.nz
If you're a researcher we’ll provide you with an online form to complete, so that your data can be included.
We’ve tried to the keep the form as simple as possible to make it easy for you to provide the information. You do not have to fill in every field - some of the information will not be applicable or available for every project and funding award, or you may choose not to complete a particular field.
If you’re an organisation that funds COVID-19 research, we can provide direct assistance to get your data into the database.
Please note the database can be updated easily, so if you’d like something changed or corrected just let us know by emailing us.
Other COVID-19-related research resources
Many countries and organisations are providing collections of data and information relating to COVID-19 research. Here are some links:
The World Health Organisation COVID database(external link)
International Science Council collaboration site for COVID-19 related activities(external link)