Simulation exercise: Bridging the gap between disciplines in crisis - interdisciplinary scientific advice for policy
Experience interdisciplinary pandemic scientific advising in action. Although effective pandemic responses require expertise from diverse disciplines, these fields often do not routinely collaborate. In this interactive outbreak simulation exercise, attendees will confront complex dilemmas and explore the strengths and challenges of interdisciplinary collaboration in scientific advising.
Effective responses to pandemics rely on scientific expertise from a wide range of disciplines, including biomedical, social, behavioural, and economic sciences. Yet in many national contexts, these fields do not routinely collaborate, making the integration of diverse perspectives into coherent and actionable policy advice a persistent challenge.
This interactive thematic session examines both the strengths and the tensions of interdisciplinary collaboration in pandemic scientific advising. Using a simulation exercise with fictitious outbreak scenario, participants will be immersed in a dynamic, fictional public health crisis that unfolds across multiple phases.
At key decision points, participants will be confronted with complex, multi-perspective dilemmas reflecting competing priorities. Through guided reflection and discussion, the session will highlight how different disciplinary lenses and values shape risk assessment, and policy recommendations.
Date and time
Day 3, Friday 20 November, 12:45-14:05
Moderator
Jeannette de Boer
Jeannette de Boer is a MD in Public Health and is Head of Education at the Pandemic & Disaster Preparedness Center Academy (Rotterdam, the Netherlands). She gained broad experience in the field of infectious disease control through multiple roles amongst others within the Public Health Service, National Institute of Public Health and Environment (RIVM), European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the Netherlands School of Public and Occupational Health. She is the work package lead focusing on simulation exercises within the UNITY consortium; a consortium of multiple Dutch parties, studying different elements of integrated scientific pandemic advice for policy. She organizes several educational events such as the PDPC conferences, PDPC Summer- and Winter school and she leads a minor program ‘pandemic preparedness’ at the Erasmus Medical Center.
Speakers and facilitators
Femke Overbosch
Aloïs Kessener
Aloïs Kessener graduates soon as biomedical scientist and is a junior researcher at Pandemic & Disaster Preparedness Center Academy (Rotterdam, the Netherlands). He participates in the work package focusing on simulation exercises within the UNITY consortium and contributed substantially in the preparation of several simulation exercises.