Jointly preparing for the next pandemic

The mission of the Collaborative Platform for Epidemic Modelling and Data Analytics is to strengthen the field of infectious disease modelling and data analysis in the Netherlands in a sustainable way. To achieve that mission, the platform: 

• promotes knowledge-sharing initiatives; 
• develops more effective partnerships;
• prepares new generations of modellers for work during large-scale outbreaks of infectious diseases. 

This ensures that modelling and data professionals are better prepared and able to respond jointly and effectively during major infectious disease outbreaks and pandemics in future – for example, by modelling infectious diseases and providing reliable advice on infectious disease control. 
Direct communication and equal partnership
The professionals involved can easily contact each other through the platform and collaborate on the basis of equal partnership. RIVM coordinates the collaborative platform. The professionals are jointly committed to: 

• securing, strengthening and enhancing existing knowledge;
• expanding infectious disease modelling and data analysis capacities in the Netherlands;
• creating a structure that enables researchers from various groups and organisations to find each other and collaborate. 

Parties involved

The platform includes professionals working at a range of institutions in the Netherlands or abroad, including: 

• university hospitals;
• universities;
• the Dutch Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO); 
• Statistics Netherlands (CBS); 
• other research institutes. 

The list may be expanded in future. For example, the platform looks forward to welcoming data analysis experts and modellers from other disciplines, such as biology and virology. 

Reason for creating the platform

In 2023, in response to experiences gained during the COVID-19 pandemic, a symposium was organised on the future of infectious disease modelling and data analysis. Participants included staff from various national research institutes and academic groups, and all acknowledged the need for national collaboration. 

Based on recommendations from the international scientific audit on COVID-19 data-analysis and modelling, in September 2023, the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS) asked RIVM to develop a roadmap for establishing a collaborative platform for infectious disease modelling and data analysis. This resulted in the creation of the Collaborative Platform for Epidemic Modelling and Data Analytics.

Contact

On Github, you will find the codes and other information shared by the members of the platform. To find out more or discuss options to participate in the platform, please contact collabforepidemodatanalytics@rivm.nl.