Civic Science Resources for COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic brings into great clarity the need for an inclusive, resilient culture of civic science that supports all communities, and particularly the most vulnerable. This collection of resources, created and recommended by members of the civic science network, is designed to support shared learning and action as we adapt and respond in the near term and look ahead together. We welcome suggestions for additional resources—please reach out to civicscience@ritaallen.org.

Science, Medicine, and Technology
Journalism and Reporting
Education and Engagement
Social Systems and Policy
Combating Misinformation
Tools for Virtual Work and Gathering
Resources for Nonprofits and Philanthropy
Resources for Newsrooms
Resources for Families and Communities

Science, Medicine, and Technology

Coronavirus: Research, Commentary, and News
Science (AAAS)
News, research, and analysis on commentary on the COVID-19 pandemic, the coronavirus that causes it, public health responses, and impacts on scientific research across fields.

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Resources related to COVID-19 as well as consensus studies and workshop proceedings on the subject of pandemic infectious disease.

Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Resources
American Society for Microbiology
Resources for understanding the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, and the pandemic, including a toolkit for speaking to the public and contact information for coronavirus experts.

COVID-19 Open Innovation Efforts
United States Geological Survey
A wiki page providing examples of different types of open innovation efforts emerging in response to COVID-19.

U.S. Digital Response for COVID-19
Help from volunteer technologists for state, local, and federal government agencies to manage data, digital, and operational challenges connected to the COVID-19 crisis.

Here are the Ways Science and Tech Experts Can Volunteer to Help with the Coronavirus Response
Deborah Stine
One Zero
Suggestions for actions scientists, engineers, technologists, or health professionals can take to help with coronavirus pandemic response.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Research
SAGE Journals
A collection of open-access articles that include biomedical and social science research related to COVID-19.

Journalism and Reporting

COVID-19 Survey Archive
Societal Experts Action Network (SEAN)
A searchable archive of surveys on the COVID-19 pandemic from the United States and internationally, collected by an expert group at National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in collaboration with National Science Foundation.

Journalist’s Resource: Covering the Coronavirus Pandemic
Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy
Harvard Kennedy School
A collection of research roundups, articles, and tip sheets to inform news coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic and the many topics it influences. Also see Covering Rural Health Care Amid COVID-19: 4 Tips from Carrie Henning-Smith.

Solutions Story Tracker
Solutions Journalism Network
A searchable database of rigorous reporting on responses to social problems, including articles from across the country on a variety of responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Conversation: COVID-19
The Conversation
Perspectives on multiple aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic from academics across fields and institutions, widely distributed through Creative Commons publishing.

Undark – Coronavirus
Knight Science Journalism Fellowship Program
Coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic from Undark magazine, including examinations of ethical and societal questions the pandemic raises.

The Latest News on the Coronavirus Outbreak
Kaiser Health News
Reporting, explainers, and podcasts on the COVID-19 pandemic.

Coronavirus, Science, and the Media
Clio Heslop
British Science Association
UK Civic Science Fellow Clio Heslop shares recommendations of COVID-19 coverage from former British Science Association Media Fellows.

Coronavirus Disease Pandemic
World Health Organization
A collection of information and updates on the coronavirus pandemic, as well as resources including videos, online training, data visualizations, and messaging service in partnership with WhatsApp.

Coronavirus COVID-19 Global Cases
Center for Systems Science and Engineering
Johns Hopkins University
Live tracking and data visualization of coronavirus cases, including data on deaths, recovery, and confirmed cases.

COVID-19 Resources
Global Investigative Journalism Network
Multi-lingual guides for investigative reporters covering the coronavirus pandemic.

The Rural Blog
Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, University of Kentucky
Resources and information on journalism in rural America, including events, trends, and issues.

COVID-19 Infographic Data Pack
Information Is Beautiful
Infographics capturing data on the COVID-19 pandemic such as case and death totals, the incubation of SARS-CoV-2 compared to other diseases, and the effectiveness of face-mask materials.

Education and Engagement

Studying Coronaviruses: Vectors to Vaccines
iBiology
Scientists Tracey Goldstein and Koen Van Rompay discuss the process and challenges of studying coronaviruses and other infectious diseases.

Science Matters: Let’s Talk About COVID-19 and Fighting COVID-19 with Epidemiology: A Johns Hopkins Teach-Out
Coursera
Online courses for non-experts exploring the COVID-19 pandemic and how to interpret new information with tools from medicine, public health, data science, and economics, from the Imperial College of London and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Public Health 101: Introduction to Epidemiology
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Online courses, slides, and webinars providing an introduction to epidemiology.

Science Centers and COVID-19
Association of Science and Technology Centers
Resources for science centers and museums responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, including a list of online exhibits and programming from museums around the country.

Citizen Science Resources Related to the COVID-19 Pandemic
Citizen Science Association
Links to citizen science and crowdsourcing projects for people wanting to help tackle the virus, researchers looking for support during interruptions to their fieldwork, parents looking for ideas to support children who are learning from home, and anyone looking for useful ways to fill their time while self-isolating

Fold It: Solve Puzzles for Science and Folding@Home
Protein-folding crowdsourcing projects to create novel therapeutics for COVID-19.

Social Systems and Policy

Science Will Not Come on a White Horse With a Solution
Nawal Arjini
The Nation
An interview with Sheila Jasanoff, Pforzheimer Professor of Science and Technology Studies at Harvard University, on how democracy and science interact in the context of the coronavirus pandemic.

Principles for an Equitable and Effective Crisis Response
Public Lab
A working document drafted across a series of events hosted by Public Lab, drawing on insights from community organizers with experience in community-based disaster response.

COVID ActNow
A resource developed from partnerships between data scientists, epidemiologists, and public health policy experts that tracks state response to the COVID-19 pandemic based on infection rate, testing rate, hospital capacity, and vaccination.

91-DIVOC
Wade Fagen-Ulmschneider, University of Illinois
An interactive resource that allows users to understand both the overall spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on various populations throughout the world.

Ethics Resources on the Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Hastings Center
Ethics resources for responding to novel coronavirus, including institutional frameworks and a pandemic ethics briefing.

Political Responses to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic, 2020
Ballotpedia
Tracking national, state, and local government responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as school and court closures and election changes.

Under the Blacklight: The Intersectional Failures that COVID Lays Bare
African American Policy Forum
Information, resources, and opportunities to increase understanding of how cumulative vulnerability is increasing the impact of COVID-19 on some populations more than others, and to galvanize action to shift these dynamics.

#coronavirussyllabus
A crowd-sourced cross-disciplinary resource providing societal and historical context for understanding and responding to the coronavirus pandemic, including related articles and books, podcasts, film, visual arts, and literature. Originated on Twitter by Alondra Nelson.

COVID-19: Local Action Tracker
National League of Cities and Bloomberg Philanthropies
A database of policy actions implemented by local leaders in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Combating Misinformation

Health Misinformation
First Draft News
Articles and guides related to verifying information and combating misinformation around the coronavirus pandemic.

Coronavirus Misinformation Project
Federation of American Scientists
Providing facts, expertise, and curated information to counter misinformation related to COVID-19.

FactCheck.org – COVID-19
Annenberg Public Policy Center
A resource for verifying information related to the novel coronavirus.

MediaWell – COVID-19
Social Science Research Council
Research and news exploring the intersections between misinformation, science, fear, and public health.

Infodemic: Half-Truths, Lies, and Critical Information in a Time of Pandemics
Aspen Institute
Webinar on misinformation and the coronavirus pandemic, with Claire Wardle, Donnie O’Sullivan, and Vivian Schiller.

Sifting Through the Coronavirus Pandemic
Mike Caulfield
Washington State University
Digital information literacy expert and Misinformation Solutions Forum winner Mike Caulfield on approaches to determining fact from fiction in online content.

How to Avoid Misinformation About COVID-19
Smithsonian Magazine
An article featuring Civic Science Fellow Reyhaneh Maktoufi (2020) and resource partner Dietram Scheufele that shares advice on how to identify what news to trust and what might be misinformation.

Tools for Virtual Work and Gathering

COVID-19: Tips for Working Remotely
Public Lab
Resources and suggestions on remote work from the Public Lab team, which has been working and collaborating remotely for ten years in support of community science and open technology.

Online Meeting Resources Toolkit for Facilitators
Facilitators for Pandemic Response Group
An open document where convening facilitators are sharing, curating, and organizing resources as offline interactions move online.

Early Reflections on Transitioning to Online Teaching
Kathy Pham
Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society
Shorenstein Center Civic Science Fellow Kathy Pham shares takeaways from an early experiment with moving to virtual teaching.

Tech Notes: Pedagogy
Teddy Svoronos
In-depth advice for teaching about complex material remotely.

Resources for Nonprofits and Philanthropy

Spanish Translation COVID-19 Style Guide
Resolve Philadelphia
A resource for existing and upcoming translation efforts from English to Spanish to help with coverage of COVID-19.

Funds for Coronavirus Relief
Candid
A list of philanthropic funds established to help nonprofits respond to coronavirus.

Nonprofit AF
Vu Le
A leading, often humorous commentator on nonprofit management, Vu Le posts a series of thoughts on challenges faced by nonprofits during the coronavirus pandemic, and how foundations can help.

COVID-19 Coronavirus
Center for Disaster Philanthropy
Updates and analysis of the COVID-19 pandemic, critical needs for philanthropy to address, and for funders on effective and responsive giving during the COVID-19 pandemic and other disasters. See also the Disaster Philanthropy Playbook, a collection of resources for funders, nonprofits, and government agencies, originated with lessons learned from Hurricane Sandy.

COVID-19 Resources for Lean Funders
Exponent Philanthropy
Resources for effective and responsive giving during the COVID-19 pandemic and other disasters, with a focus on funders with little or no staff.

Statement on COVID-19
Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy
Recommendations for philanthropies seeking to address COVID-19 as well as the rise in anti-Asian xenophobia surrounding it.

COVID-19⁠—Seven Things Philanthropy Can Do
Lauren A. Smith
FSG
Guidelines for philanthropies seeking to address the needs of marginalized communities during a public health crisis.

Resources for Newsrooms

The Raleigh News & Observer Shares its Playbook on Grant Writing in Journalism
Jane Elizabeth, The News & Observer and The Herald-Sun
Recommendations for how to apply for grants and funding as a newsroom.

CrowdTangle
Resources for global news coverage of the coronavirus pandemic, including courses for journalists and publishers on how to source content for stories

COVID-19: Poynter Resources
Poynter
Best practices for covering the COVID-19 pandemic for journalists, fact-checkers, educators, and students.

COVID-19 Resources for Reporters
SciLine (AAAS)
Media briefings, tools, and an expert matching service for journalists covering COVID-19.

The COVID-19 Crisis Explained By Experts
Scholars Strategy Network
A compiled list of scholars available for comments and analysis on topics including school closures, health care, and economic impact in relation to the current COVID-19 pandemic.

Resources for Covering COVID-19
National Association of Science Writers
A list of publicly available and regularly updated resources for writers and newsrooms covering the coronavirus pandemic.

Tips and Tools for Reporting on COVID-19
Knight Science Journalism @MIT
A collection of resources for newsrooms and reporters covering COVID-19, including sources for data, reporting best-practices, fact-checking, and connecting with experts, as well as a list of who to follow on social media.

The Whole Story – Covering COVID-19
Solutions Journalism Network
Resources for journalists covering COVID-19 responses from the team at the Solutions Journalism Network, including Civic Science Fellow resource partner Linda Shaw.

Tipsheet: Covering the Coronavirus Epidemic Effectively without Spreading Misinformation
Laura Helmuth
The Open Notebook
Best practices and tips for how to cover the coronavirus pandemic for novices and well as more experienced journalists.

COVID-19 Reporting
International Journalists’ Network
Tips for reporting and teaching on the coronavirus pandemic including a piece about beat reports adapting to the challenges of health reporting.

Resources for Families and Communities

Database of Localized Resources during COVID-19 Outbreak
Links to local and national mutual-aid efforts, as well as resources specific to kids, elders, LGBTQ populations, and other specific needs. See also the Mutual Aid Hub.

Report COVID-19 Related Harassment, Discrimination, and Bigotry
Asian Pacific Planning and Policy Council and Chinese for Affirmative Action
A reporting center to document witnessed or experienced coronavirus-related micro-aggressions, bullying, harassment, hate speech, or violence in order to inform response and prevention.

Learn at Home
National Geographic
For educators, parents, and caregivers, a curated collection of learning activities that can be done at home with minimal supplies. National Geographic Explorers are also hosting daily live broadcasts of Explorer Classroom.

At-Home Games, Activities, and Experiments
New York Hall of Science
Free resources to encourage open-ended exploration, imaginative learning, engagement, and delight in science, technology, and math for kids from pre-K through high school.

Aquí Nos Cuidamos
Ciencia Puerto Rico
A toolkit designed by host partner Ciencia Puerto Rico (2021) to promote COVID-19 prevention and the wellbeing of vulnerable and marginalized communities in Puerto Rico.

Thank you to many in the Civic Science Fellows and Rita Allen Foundation networks who have shared resources. Please send additional recommendations to civicscience@ritaallen.org.