Providence, RI — The Pandemic Center at the Brown University School of Public Health will strengthen its groundbreaking work to improve global preparedness for and response to climate-sensitive infectious disease outbreaks with a new grant from the global charitable foundation, Wellcome. 

Said Isabel Fletcher, Technology Manager at Wellcome: “As climate change reshapes infectious disease risks, realizing the potential of data to improve health requires understanding how different sources of information can be responsibly shared and integrated to address real-world public health needs. The Pandemic Center has a proven track record in identifying practical approaches to overcoming barriers. They can catalyze an international network of decision-makers to share best practices and lessons learned from firsthand experience.”

Climate change alters the geographic range, seasonality, and intensity of infectious disease threats. Accordingly, public health decision-makers increasingly need information from across sectors to anticipate where and when outbreaks may occur, and to prepare effectively. However, “access to more data does not necessarily translate into earlier or effective action,” said Jennifer Nuzzo, Director of the Pandemic Center. “This initiative will build critical understanding of how countries link and share that data to ensure that advance warning systems provide the information needed to inform timely decision-making and response.”

This grant allows the Pandemic Center to expand research through its Advance Warning and Response Exemplars (AWARE) project, examining the barriers and enablers to advance warning, early detection, and response to climate-sensitive disease outbreaks in Brazil, Kenya, South Africa, and Vietnam. In partnership with in-country research teams, AWARE documented best practices across diverse settings, providing a foundation to further understand how multi-sectoral data — including climate, environmental, demographic, and health datasets — are shared, integrated, and used to inform decisions.

Building on this foundation, the new research will address these gaps through four primary research objectives:

• Defining Priority Use Cases: Clarifying data needs and identifying which datasets drive the highest impact for advance warning.
• Defining Operational Approaches: Analyzing how robust systems link data across national and subnational agencies.
• Identifying Governance Strategies: Examining how countries can best navigate legal and data-sharing constraints while maintaining trust and privacy.
• Demonstrating Real-World Impact: Documenting country-level case studies to illustrate how integrated data improves response outcomes.

This work will leverage a collaborative leadership model pairing global expertise from the Pandemic Center with local in-country research partners (ICRPs). This ensures research remains grounded in country-specific contexts while producing transferable insights for global application.

The main output of the research — engaging directly with international stakeholders, including the World Health Organization (WHO), Africa CDC, health ministries, and development banks — will be a Data Sharing and Integration Guidance Framework to translate research directly into policy to better respond to future health emergencies.

Our work will include: 

1. Evidence Generation: Country case studies will generate operational evidence on how data sharing and integration are implemented in practice.
2. Knowledge Translation: Findings will be synthesized into a practical Guidance Framework for policymakers, implementers, and technical partners.
3. Stakeholder Validation: Targeted consultations and workshops with national and global stakeholders (e.g., ministries, meteorological agencies, WHO, Africa CDC, and funders) will ensure the guidance is relevant and fit for use.
4. Uptake & Endorsement: Engagement with regional and global institutions will support alignment with existing AW&R initiatives and create pathways for endorsement and adoption.
5. Implementation & Impact: The Guidance Framework will support improved data sharing and integration, enabling advance warning and strengthened system resilience over time.

About the Pandemic Center at Brown University

The Pandemic Center at the Brown University School of Public Health works to prevent, reduce vulnerabilities to, and increase resilience to pandemics, other biological emergencies, and the harms they pose to health, peace, security, and prosperity.