Environment submissions database

The COVID-19 pandemic presented various challenges for London South Bank University (LSBU) and, common to several universities during the pandemic, we were the victim of a full-scale cyber-attack. This took out most of our IT systems from mid-December, which impacted on data collection, impact case study evidence-finding, and the completion of our REF submission. To help identify challenges of the pandemic to our staff and devise appropriate support, the following activities were pursued: 1. Research Data Collection Policy. A moratorium on face-to-face research was developed by the Ethics Committee and imposed on 17 March 2020. This was followed by the development of a policy, Face-to-Face Data Collection During COVID-19, which set out four levels of risk. This was ratified by the University Research Committee (URC) on 7 July 2020. 2. Impact on Staff. In June 2020, a Working Group was established to investigate how issues pertaining to gender, care work and disability impacted negatively on research during COVID-19, reporting on 3 August 2020 that: · Women were more adversely impacted than male counterparts; · Academics with caring responsibilities were negatively impacted; · BAME staff at LSBU face additional barriers. 3. Staff survey. The Annual University Research Audit (AURA) (27 October–14 December 2020) found that during COVID-19, researchers were adversely impacted with respect to: · Time available to conduct research (64% of respondents); · Face-to-face research activity (46% of respondents); · Research output production activity (45% of respondents); · Laboratory research (32% of respondents); · Fieldwork (22% of respondents). 4. Postgraduate student impacts: a consultation with senior LSBU research leaders/researchers yielded a paper presented to URC on 10 February 2021. This outlined the key issues identified, including how COVID-19 had affected access to key skills training, supervision and viva-voce examinations. Four key actions were undertaken at LSBU. 1. An extra three days’ leave was granted to recognise and reward staff’s response to the crisis. 2. Ten working days of additional paid parental/carers’ leave granted for all eligible staff. 3. A COVID-19 Lateral Flow Test facility was established with tests available for students and staff 30 November 2020–31 March 2021. 4. A Recovery Package is in development, considering ‘invisible’ barriers thrown up by care work and identifying new/innovative ways to support colleagues wishing to engage with research, alongside their caring commitments, and identifying: · Approaches to sensitively managing expectations in relation to emails and response times to requests/deadlines from colleagues/administrators/managers; · A policy statement acknowledging the rights of all with caring responsibilities; · Provision of additional Sabbaticals for carers; · Acknowledging that engaging in research activities outside of normal working hours may not be feasible for colleagues with caring responsibilities; · Limiting online meeting length and avoiding scheduling meetings between 1-2pm and after 5pm. National contributions of the School of Health and Social Care (HSC) HSC academics have made national contributions during COVID-19, including: 1. Setup of the clinical skills and simulation training facilities at NHS Nightingale Hospital London; and 2. Surveying NHS staff to understand new best-practice.