The Parent-Infant CoVid OrganisaTional Academic Learning Collaborative – PIVOT-AL Collaborative

The collaborative is a cross-disciplinary, multi-institution, academic learning collaborative made up of academic researchers, clinical staff, and policy makers with research interests in maternal and child health who have responded to rapid research calls to investigate the effects of the pandemic on maternal and child healthcare and outcomes. The PIVOT-AL National Collaborative was conceived by Professor Soo Downe OBE (University of Central Lancashire), who invited researchers from across the United Kingdom working on rapid research responses to the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, or ‘COVID-19’ pandemic. Initially, a small group of invited academics, from the University of Central Lancashire, King’s College London, the University of Liverpool, and THIS Institute at the University of Cambridge, met relatively infrequently to discuss upcoming research and themes emerging from their work. Dr Lucy Frith (then at the University of Liverpool) was one of these invited academics. Quickly, the invitation list grew to include academics, researchers, including Dr Caroline Redhead, healthcare professionals, and policy makers, from across the health, social, and psychological sciences, and monthly meetings were scheduled so that cross-disciplinary conversations could take place about the changing landscapes of maternal and child healthcare throughout the pandemic. These more regular (on-line) meetings assisted in formalising research collaborations, identifying areas which were lacking in research capacity, and ensuring a formal record of ongoing research and research outputs was kept. Through this growth we have seen the group grow to in excess of 50 members from more than 20 academic, clinical, and/or policy institutions, who together also adopted the name: The Parent-Infant coVid OrganisaTional Academic Learning [PIVOT-AL] Collaborative. At present, the PIVOT-AL Collaborative covers in excess of 20 parent studies, with numerous sub-studies.