Emergency circumstances call for extraordinary measures: a study of research council COVID-19 emergency call projects

Abstract

Medical research and innovation to meet urgent demands in society is crucial, but the process contains many challenges. Moreso, impacts from medical research and innovation can take many years to materialise, not least because these activities are infused with various types of complexities due to heterogeneous networks, systems, and contexts. Although acceleration is currently a trending topic, little is known about the temporal complexities embedded in research and innovation processes. This paper analyses the time dimension of medical research and innovation through an empirical investigation of 30 research projects that were set up to respond quickly to the COVID-19 situation from June 2020 to July 2022. Funders and scientists were able to find ways to speed up many tasks, but many of the projects also saw delays and deceleration. An important explanation is that temporality is tied to a myriad of contextual characteristics that limit the opportunities of project leaders for coordinating and accelerating activities and outcomes. Attempts at acceleration seem to work best when substantial ongoing research activities can be shaped incrementally into new directions. Nevertheless, the results of the projects may be of limited value to the pandemic which served as their rationale, but they can serve as a foundation for better policies and practices that invoke the need for rethinking medical innovation in the future.