Advisory adaptive capacity in pandemics: comparative insights from seven European countries

Background

Pandemics require scientific advisory systems that can adapt to evolving knowledge, uncertainty, and expanding policy questions. While countries differed in relying on pre-existing or newly created advisory structures during COVID-19, less is known about what determines adaptive capacity. This study examines how interdisciplinarity and institutional design shaped the adaptive capacity of scientific advisory mechanisms.

Methods

We conducted a comparative multiple-case study of scientific advisory mechanisms in seven Western European countries (Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom), drawing on 30 semi-structured interviews and document analysis. Thematic analysis focused on structural configuration, organisation of interdisciplinarity, and science–policy coupling.

Results

Adaptive capacity was not determined by whether advisory structures were pre-existing or newly created. Instead, it depended on how advisory systems organised interdisciplinarity and were connected to policy processes. We identify three organisational patterns: (1) embedded interdisciplinarity within single advisory structures with subgroups; (2) layered or parallel advisory streams with integration at policy level; and (3) hybrid configurations combining approaches over time. Across cases, advisory systems expanded beyond biomedical expertise as the pandemic evolved into a multi-dimensional crisis, often through subgroup formation or additional committees. These organisational choices shaped how rapidly systems incorporated new knowledge domains and responded to changing outbreak dynamics.

Conclusions

Advisory adaptive capacity during pandemics depends on how systems structure interdisciplinarity and policy embedding. Designing advisory systems as flexible platforms capable of incorporating diverse expertise is critical for maintaining coherent and responsive scientific advice.

Key messages

• Adaptive capacity of pandemic advisory systems depends less on institutional origin and more on how interdisciplinarity is organised and embedded in policy processes.

• Flexible advisory structures that can expand expertise and adapt over time are critical for maintaining coherent and responsive scientific advice during pandemics.