About the Coordinating Center

The COVID-19 pandemic presents research challenges for measuring governmental, community, and population responses to a public health crisis. To date, the actions to mitigate disease transmission have been economic, social, and behavioral, as well as medical. These interventions have untold consequences on a wide range of aspects of human and environmental well-being, which we are just beginning to understand. Understanding the effects of COVID-19 require a cross-disciplinary approach with a particular emphasis on inequitable impacts among US subgroups.

The Social, Behavioral, and Economic Consortium Coordinating Center (SBE CCC), led by ICPSR, provides a nexus for communication on public health emergencies research, streamlining information-sharing across the behavioral and social science community, multiple NIH award recipients, and the public. It promotes collaborative work across a multidisciplinary research community, each with different missions, cultures, and ethos. In addition, the project provides teaching materials, data, and opportunities to apply for pilot studies on the impacts of public health emergencies among minority populations.

SBE CCC works with members of the SBE Consortium, a group of NIH-funded teams investigating the social, behavioral, and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Key Goals and Activities

Research & Collaboration

Promote the development of key concepts and shared measures for research on public health emergencies. Establish and maintain a measures archive, and develop and use relevant common data elements (CDEs).

Guidance & Support

Establish best practices for data sharing and provide guidance on data linkages and access to restricted data.

Pilot Projects

Offer opportunities to apply for pilot studies on the impacts of public health emergencies that deepen collaboration among and increase the diversity and inclusiveness of SBE researchers and research projects.

Annual Meeting

Host an annual meeting for researchers to share findings, identify opportunities for collaboration, and establish the future direction of research on public health emergencies.

Dissemination

Produce and share materials that synthesize research findings emerging from NIH investments in research on public health emergencies, such as webinars and research briefs. Materials will be provided on SBE CCC’s website as an open resource for all interested educators, students, and researchers.