Societal Impact Team

Societal Impact Team

The Societal Impact Team (Maatschappelijk Impact Team, in short: MIT) was established on 1 September 2022, towards the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. MIT is a Dutch Advisory Commission that advises the Dutch national government and parliament on the short and long-term socio-economic consequences of pandemics and pandemic measures. MIT provides solicited and unsolicited advice based on the knowledge and information available from science and practice. MIT’s advisory role aligns with the government’s goals for the long-term management of the COVID-19 pandemic. Those goals express the government’s view that during a pandemic, socio-economic activities should be allowed to continue as much as possible and the chain of healthcare services should remain accessible.

Advice Joining forces to be prepared for the next pandemic

Pandemic preparedness is crucial, from the perspective of infectious disease control but also in preventing and mitigating societal consequences. MIT’s most recent advice (July 2024) recommends how pandemic preparedness on a societal level in the Netherlands can be ensured and improved.

Assessment framework for pandemics

The MIT Commission has invested in developing an assessment framework that can be used to identify the effectiveness and societal impact of measures together with the key dilemmas and underlying values. The framework illustrates how to get to a well-considered advice and decision during a specific pandemic context and within a particular set of time.

MIT on standby

Per 1 September 2024, MIT will go on standby. MIT will be activated if a new pandemic situation requires it. In the meantime, knowledge of pandemics from a societal point of view will be further developed by the National Institute on Social Research in the Netherlands (Sociaal en Cultureel Planbureau, SCP).