(still very early draft! Please no publicity or reporting on this yet!)
This page tracks the application of blockchain technology to the fight against the virus that causes COVID19.
Known Blockchain Initiatives:
These are initiatives that have been reported on or otherwise announced, though not all will be open to public involvement.
Suggested tags: #digitalidentity #patientrecords #contacttracing #supplychain
| Initiative Name | Tags | Organizations Involved | Description | How to get involved? | Links to Press | Last Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MiPasa | WHO, IBM, Oracle, HACERA | "Big names including IBM, Oracle and the World Health Organization (WHO) are among the collaborators on an open-data hub that will use blockchain technology to check the veracity of data relating to the coronavirus pandemic." | Coindesk, Cointelegraph | March 30, 2020 | ||
| COVID-19 Credential Initiative | #digitalidentity | Evernym, Streetcred, Sovrin Foundation (other partners to be named), 40+ individuals from Hyperledger and Sovrin communities | https://www.evernym.com/covid19-creds/ | https://www.evernym.com/covid19/ | Coming shortly | March 30, 2020 |
| Safepaths | MIT, Riidl, Mila, + many more | Form to Join | See project page for press | April 1, 2020 | ||
Perspectives and News:
These are articles in the press, or even well written personal essays, on how blockchain technology can or should be applied to the challenges.
How A Coronavirus ‘Data Vault’ Could Help Re-Open The Economy In Four Weeks, Nishan Degnarain, Forbes, Mar 30 2020
Five Ways Blockchain Can Unblock The Coronavirus Medical Supply Chain, Nishan Degnarain, Forbes, Mar 22 2020
- China: Blockchain Deployment Rises Amid Coronavirus Outbreak, Cointelegraph, Feb 17 2020
These articles are less directly about the application of the tech, and more about what kinds of solutions will be needed:
Germany will issue coronavirus antibody certificates to allow quarantined to re-enter society, The Telegraph, Mar 29 2020
How America Can Reopen, NYTimes, Mar 30 2020
We Can Safely Restart the Economy in June. Here’s How, NYTimes Mar 28 2020
Protecting Civil Liberties During a Public Health Crisis, EFF blog post, Mar 10 2020
620,000 people installed TraceTogether in 3 days, S’pore’s open source contact tracing app, Mothership.sg, Mar 23 2020
TraceTogether: under the hood, Medium, Mar 23 2020
Funding Opportunities:
Funding/Support from Around the World
- Canada
- Canadian 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Rapid Research Funding Opportunity. On March 19, 2020, the honourable Patty Hajdu, Canada’s Minister of Health, announced an additional investment of $25M to the Canadian 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Rapid Research competition. This additional funding is a portion of the $275M dedicated for COVID-19 research as announced by the Prime Minister on March 11, 2020. With this investment, CIHR will be able to fund an additional 49 grants, which brings the total number of grants funded to 96 and a total investment of $52.6M
- Ireland
- Health Research Board (HRB). The research priorities of this call are aligned with the WHO R&D Blueprint and informed by the Global Infectious Disease Collaboration for International Disease Preparedness (GloPID-R)
Funding/Support in the US
- National Cancer Institute (NCI) Funding Opportunities for Small Businesses (SBIRs/STTRs). Updated MAR 27. The NCI participates in the NIH-issued SBIR and an STTR Omnibus grant solicitation for small businesses, which allow small businesses to submit researcher-initiated projects that are within NIH’s mission.
- National Institute of Health (NIH) Funding Opportunities. Urgent Competitive Revision to Existing NIH Grants and Cooperative Agreements (Urgent Supplement - Clinical Trial Optional) recently updated through "Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Availability of Administrative Supplements and Revision Supplements on Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)." Additional details available here.
- Additional COVID-19 Funding Opportunities
- UC Davis Office of Research provides a regularly updated set of links tied to COVID-19 funding opportunities across numerous US agencies, including Health and Human Services (HHS), the National Institute of Health (NIH), and the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the Gates Foundation.
Matchmaking:
Volunteer your services, or describe how your company might help, and we'll do our best to match you with projects needing assistance. How should we do this?