In September 2020, the British Academy was asked by the UK Government Office for Science to produce an independent review to address the question - what are the long-term societal impacts of COVID-19? This short but substantial question led researchers to a rapid integration of evidence and an extensive consultation process. As history has shown us, the effects of a pandemic are as much social, cultural and economic, as they are about medicine and health. The aim has been to deliver an integrated view across these areas to start understanding the long-term impacts and how to address them.

The evidence review – in the companion report, The COVID decade – concluded that there are nine interconnected areas of long-term societal impact arising from the pandemic which could play out over the coming COVID decade, ranging from the rising importance of local communities, to exacerbated inequalities and a renewed awareness of education and skills in an uncertain economic climate.

From those areas of impact, researchers identified a range of policy issues for consideration by actors across society, about how to respond to these social, economic and cultural challenges beyond the immediate short-term crisis. The challenges are interconnected and require a systemic approach – one that also takes account of dimensions such as place (physical and social context, locality), scale (individual, community, regional, national) and time (past, present, future; short, medium and longer term).