COVID-19 Series: Report 4 – A Second Survey on the Impact of COVID-19 on Health and Medical Researchers

The fourth report in Research Australia’s COVID-19 series presents a second survey of health and medical researchers, conducted six months after the first, with additional questions on care responsibilities and gender. The online survey was open from 17 November to 14 December 2020 and received responses from 304 researchers; 77.5% of respondents identified as female and 54% of those who indicated their location were from Victoria. Overall, 80.2% reported that their research had been adversely affected, and 45.1% said the impact was greater than they had anticipated six months earlier. Fixed term contracts accounted for 42.2% of respondents, and women were more likely than men to be in less secure and part-time employment even when accounting for career stage. Of respondents with care responsibilities, 72.7% reported these had increased due to COVID-19, and 38.6% of women compared with 30.8% of men reported a major impact on their work. Satisfaction with funding agency support declined, with 35.7% helped by grant extensions and flexibility, down from 45.7% in May. Among those expecting effects beyond 2020, 89.4% anticipated research delays, and 68.2% expected reductions in future government funding. Support for a longer-term restructure of the research funding framework rose to 69.4%. Respondents proposed more secure employment, strategic funding reserves and targeted support for carers and early career researchers.