Table 3

Summary of recommendations in relation to key issues

Key issues	Target audience	Recommendations
Need for interdisciplinary collaboration	Policy makers	Provide and strengthen entry points for all relevant disciplines in responding to the pandemic or health emergency, such as behavioural, social and political sciences, engineering, and economics, bringing added value to clinically and biomedically oriented work.
Need for interdisciplinary collaboration	Scientists and higher education system	Provide training and promote scientists’ development of skills facilitating interdisciplinary working early on in higher education system and as part of professional development.
Importance of clear role boundaries for scientists on government advisory boards	Policy makers	Provide clear definitions of advisory and decision-making roles, alongside a transparent roadmap of responsibilities, tasks and procedures, in order to facilitate and enhance effective and trustworthy science advisory process.
Dealing with emerging and changing ‘evidence’ while providing recommendations	Scientists and policy makers	Promote clear process of assessing the strength of available evidence. Identify strategies to tackle misinformation and disinformation, including during the pandemic as well as long term, through investment in adult and public education on scientific methods and limitations of science.
	Scientists	Communicate transparently scientific uncertainties and be explicit in order to maintain trustworthiness and facilitate public trust in science.
Clear communication of science to the public	Scientists	Communicate current scientific understanding in an approachable, clear and transparent way, separate from political communication.