With CoVaRR-Net ending on March 31, 2025 after four years of operation, here is its Final Report. In it, we summarize the Network’s successes, its impact, legacy and lessons learned.
CoVaRR-Net’s approach to managing its research network offers some important lessons on how to build effective collaborations, whether during “peacetime” or during public health crises. The Network’s success can be credited to a few key strategies that really set it apart from traditional research models. Here are the top 10 lessons learned:
1. Streamline Decision-Making
One of CoVaRR-Net’s key strengths was its small, focused 15-member Executive Committee (EC), which made consensus-based decisions quickly and efficiently. This agile structure helped avoid the delays often seen in larger, more bureaucratic organizations. The EC was able to rapidly review research proposals and allocate funding, ensuring that urgent projects could move forward without unnecessary delays. This speed was critical to maintaining momentum in a rapidly changing pandemic environment.
2. Rapid Mobilization of Resources
CoVaRR-Net demonstrated the importance of quickly deploying research funds and resources. By requiring concise two-page research proposals and having a fast-track internal review process, the Network enabled researchers to start projects without delay. This streamlined process ensured that vital research could begin immediately, without sacrificing scientific rigour.
3. Foster Interdisciplinary Research
The Network’s success was largely due to its emphasis on interdisciplinary collaboration. CoVaRR-Net brought together experts from 130 fields, including virology, immunology, social science, data science, public health and health systems research, to approach problems from multiple angles. This collective expertise, including experts from 24 universities and 24 other major institutions, enabled the Network to tackle complex public health challenges more holistically, with solutions that might have been missed in more siloed approaches. A key lesson is that future networks should include diverse experts from fields beyond just biomedicine.
4. Recruit Top Researchers with a Collaborative Mindset
CoVaRR-Net focused on bringing together researchers who not only had expertise, but also a collaborative mindset. The result was an environment where experts willingly shared resources, data and insights. This approach minimized competition and maximized the collective impact of the Network.
5. Focus on Canadian Context and EDI&I Best Practices
A defining feature of CoVaRR-Net was its focus on addressing Canada’s unique public health challenges. By leveraging the expertise of local researchers familiar with Canada’s context, CoVaRR-Net provided timely, actionable insights for both public health authorities and the Canadian public, avoiding reliance on less applicable data from other countries. This national focus strengthened the Network’s cohesion and sense of collective ownership.
The Network also emphasized the integration of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) best practices through its Equity, Diversity, Inclusion & Indigeneity (EDI&I) team and CoVaRR-Net’s Indigenous Engagement, Development, and Research Pillar 7 (CIEDAR). Their proactive involvement helped ensure that the needs of marginalized communities, including Indigenous Peoples, were addressed in research design. Their work in guiding scientists to apply a health equity lens to research serves as a model, not only for future public health crises, but also for routine health research in Canada and beyond.
6. Build Strong Government Relationships
CoVaRR-Net’s close collaboration with Health Canada, the Public Health Agency of Canada, the National Microbiology Laboratory, and other public health institutions played a huge role in its success. These ongoing partnerships made it easier to share knowledge and data, making sure research aligned with the public health priorities that mattered most. By building trust and keeping communication open, the Network helped strengthen the bond between academia and government. This not only ensured that research helped guide policy decisions but also kept researchers in tune with the immediate needs of public health leaders. As a result, the research had a real impact on Canada’s pandemic response.
7. Tackle Data Sharing Challenges
Data sharing was one of the most significant challenges all health researchers in Canada, including those within CoVaRR-Net, faced. Recognizing this, the CoVaRR-Net Biobank and Data Platform, with guidance from their Bioethics team, implemented the Universal Data and Biological Materials Transfer Agreement (UDBMTA) as a pivotal tool to facilitate the exchange of data and reagents among its members. However, there is still a need for national policies that facilitate smoother data sharing across jurisdictions, especially during health emergencies. A streamlined framework for data sharing would help accelerate research in future crises.
8. Maintain Public Health Infrastructure
CoVaRR-Net built important research logistical infrastructure that not only supported the COVID-19 response but could also be used in future public health crises. For example, the Network developed the CoVaRR-Net Biobank, Data Platform and Bioethics; Computational Analysis, Modelling and Evolutionary Outcomes (CAMEO); the Canadian Consortium of Academic Biosafety Level 3 Laboratories (CCABL3); Central Laboratory Services; CIEDAR; and the Wastewater Surveillance Research Group (WWSRG), all of which took years to create. Continued funding for these critical infrastructure projects is essential to ensure they remain operational, continue advancing health research priorities in Canada, and are ready to respond to future health threats.
9. Implement Long-Term and Flexible Funding Models
Current short-term funding models, characterized by annual budget cycles, are detrimental to the success and sustainability of large-scale research projects. This approach is particularly problematic for initiatives requiring significant technological innovation, infrastructure development, and the retention of highly qualified personnel. Short-term funding cycles create uncertainty, disrupt long-term strategic planning, and risk the loss of critical expertise.
Adopting extended funding periods of three to five years, accompanied by increased financial allocations, is essential to foster ambitious, transformative research. Such long-term and flexible funding models offer researchers predictability and stability, allowing them to strategically plan complex projects, attract and retain skilled personnel, and invest in essential technological advancements. Moreover, sustained and reliable funding builds resilience, positioning projects to better handle unforeseen challenges or crises. Ultimately, transitioning to longer-term funding frameworks strengthens research ecosystems, driving meaningful innovation and delivering lasting societal benefits.
10. Address Administrative Barriers
Even with pre-existing university resources, CoVaRR-Net encountered administrative challenges such as slow contract processing and delays in research ethics board (REB) approvals. To enhance efficiency and responsiveness in future health crises, research networks must proactively streamline administrative procedures. Ensuring the timely and efficient flow of funds, data, and materials will enable rapid mobilization and smoother operational processes, significantly improving preparedness and effectiveness in managing emergent research demands.
In conclusion
CoVaRR-Net’s successful approach to research during the pandemic provides a blueprint for handling future public health crises. By focusing on quick decision-making, collaboration across disciplines, and fast mobilization of resources, the Network showed that effective research can happen quickly and efficiently when
supported by appropriate systems. Strengthening connections among researchers, governments, and the public is essential to maintaining scientific resilience and ensuring timely, effective responses to future health emergencies.