An elephant in the glasshouse? Trade-offs between acceleration and transformation in COVID-19 vaccine innovation policies.

Against the backdrop of a failing vaccine innovation system, innovation policy aimed at creating a COVID-19 vaccine was surprisingly fast and effective. This paper analyzes the influence of the COVID-19 landscape shock and corresponding innovation policy responses on the existing vaccine innovation system. We use document analysis and expert interviews, performed during vaccine development. We find that the sharing of responsibility between public and private actors on various geographical levels, and the focus on accelerating changes in the innovation system were instrumental in achieving fast results. Simultaneously, the acceleration exacerbated existing societal innovation barriers, such as vaccine hesitancy, health inequity, and contested privatization of earnings. Going forward, these innovation barriers may limit the legitimacy of the vaccine innovation system and reduce pandemic preparedness. Next to a focus on acceleration, transformative innovation policies for achieving sustainable pandemic preparedness are still urgently needed. Implications for mission-oriented innovation policy are discussed.

Analysis of COVID-19 recovery and resilience policy in Finland: a transformative policy mix approach

Transformative innovation policy (TIP) implies not only new directionality for innovation policy but also rethinking its means and scope. This requires further investigation into the role of horizontal and cross-sectoral policy programmes that may be relevant for upscaling innovation and destabilising regimes. This paper studies the national implementation, in Finland, of the European Union (EU) programme for COVID-19 recovery, the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), as an example of a cross-sectoral policy programme. It is of interest, because the EU has set certain conditions related to sustainability transitions for the RRF. Using a transformative policy mix approach, the paper finds that the Finnish RRF Programme lists many policy measures that can be regarded as having a transformative intent. These include upscaling innovative sustainability niches and destabilising existing practices. Yet, we also found that there is a risk that cross-sectoral programmes fail to find overall transformative visions and fund multiple potentially competing technological pathways instead.

The political trajectory of biogas in Brazil from a multilevel perspective (PMN)

This research aims to analyze the political trajectory of biogas in Brazil according to the Multi -Level Perspective (MLP). Political trajectory is understood as the set of political events that constitute the path taken by a given transition towards sustainability. Politics, in turn, is understood as a regime dimension that is influenced by pressures from both the landscape and the socio-technical niche. In this context, policy can be used to create barriers to innovations and maintain the dominant position of regime actors, or it can facilitate their advancement. Therefore, this research is classified as documentary research focusing on the National Biofuels Policy (RenovaBio) enacted in 2017. Its realization involved documentary research in several national and international institutions. The main results point to a policy built on mandatory targets, Decarbonization Credits (CBIOs), and biofuel certification. Thereafter, the regulation of RenovaBio, the pandemic of COVID-19 and the taxation of CBIOs emerge as major developments. It is concluded that RenovaBio emerges as a response to the Paris Agreement that provoked the adaptation of the socio-technical system of fossil fuels in Brazil.

Accountability and neglect in UK social care innovation

Innovation alters who is accountable for social care and how they are held to account. This article shows how organisational, institutional and technological innovation in infrastructures of social care can reconfigure accountability instruments and propel change between distinct modes of accountability. However, innovation also sustains neglect, both in terms of issues, objects and subjects missing from research, and in terms of low levels of institutional reflexivity mobilised to evaluate and direct innovation's impacts. Evidenced using two-level situational analysis – across a UK research portfolio and within a public robotics lab – we argue that confronting this neglect is critical for post-pandemic reform.

High potential of technology to face new respiratory viruses: mechanical ventilation devices for effective healthcare to next pandemic emergencies.

Some countries in the presence of unforeseen Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), have experienced lower total deaths, though higher numbers of COVID-19 related infections. Results here suggest that one of the explanations is the critical role of ventilator technology in clinical health environment to cope with the initial stage of COVID-19 pandemic crisis. Statistical evidence shows that a large number of ventilators or breathing devices in countries (26.76 units per 100,000 inhabitants) is associated with a fatality rate of 1.44% (December 2020), whereas a higher fatality rate given by 2.46% is in nations with lower numbers of ventilator devices (10.38 average units per 100,000 people). These findings suggest that a large number of medical ventilators in clinical setting has a high potential for more efficient healthcare and improves the effective preparedness of crisis management to cope with new respiratory pandemic diseases in society. Hence, a forward-thinking and technology-oriented strategy in healthcare sector, based on investments in high-tech ventilator devices and other new medical technologies, can help clinicians deliver effective care and reduce negative effects of present and future respiratory infectious diseases, in particular when new drugs and appropriate treatments are missing in clinical environment to face unknown respiratory viral agents .

Technological order and technology transfer of the vaccine for COVID-19 in Brazil: a case study of the model used by AstraZeneca/Oxford and Fiocruz

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by SARS-CoV-2, showed a rapid increase in the number of cases and deaths in the five continents, with a major impact in the public health and the economy of the countries. The effects of COVID-19 have highlighted an increase in existing inequalities in society. A global mobilization for the development and rapid production of vaccines was needed to meet the emergency demand caused by COVID-19. Objective: To discuss actions carried out by Fiocruz in the challenges imposed by the emergency to combat the disease, in addition to analyzing and discussing the partnership established between Bio-Manguinhos/Fiocruz and AstraZeneca, through Technological Order (ETEC), aiming at the verticalized Technology Transfer (TT) of the CHADOX1 NCOV-19 vaccine. Method: A documentary analysis of a descriptive nature and qualitative approach was carried out, based on the search for scientific articles on the subject, and institutional documents, as well as a thorough procedural analysis of ETEC, formalized between Fiocruz and AstraZeneca. Results: Although the National Policy for Technological Innovation in Health (PNITS) describes three viable legal instruments for formalizing partnerships, ETEC was the most adequate to meet the demands imposed by the health emergency of COVID-19, reinforcing the importance of using the State's purchasing power as an instrument for strengthening the State Health Care System (SUS) within the scope of the Health Industrial Complex. Conclusions: Even considering the health emergency caused by COVID-19, Bio-Manguinhos/Fiocruz managed to establish a partnership with AstraZeneca, aiming at the TT for the national verticalized production of the COVID-19 vaccine, for the attendance of SUS acute accent s demand. The legal instrument chosen for the formalization of the partnership was ETEC, the first used in the public health area, which proved feasible to be reproduced in future partnerships aiming at the internalization of technologies of national interest. From the absorption of this technology, Bio-Manguinhos will be able to develop new vaccines of HM's interest using the same technology.

National core competencies and dynamic capabilities in times of crisis: Adaptive regulation of new entrants in advanced technology markets

The extent to which domestic industrial capabilities are essential in contributing to a Nations' prosperity and national well-being is the topic of long-standing debate. On the one hand, globalization and the outsourcing of production can lead to greater productivity, lower product costs, and gains from trade. On the other hand, national capabilities have long been a source of competitiveness and security during times of war and other crises. We explore the importance of domestic industrial capabilities during crises through a comparative case study of two countries - Spain and Portugal - to the sudden spike in demand for the manufacture of mechanical ventilators brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Both countries had to work within the framework of EU regulations, but had very different internal competencies upon which to draw in doing so. In addition, mechanical ventilators serve as a particularly interesting context for study because they involve high risk (loss of patients' lives if incorrectly manufactured) and entering the market presents high entry barriers (including significant tacit knowledge in its production and use, and significant intellectual property embedded in proprietary software at large, established firms). To unpack the processes used by each country we leverage insights from 60 semi-structured interviews across experts from industry, healthcare workers, regulators, non-profit organizations, and research centers. We find that Spanish regulatory measures were more effective, resulting in 12 times more new products receiving regulatory approval to enter the market. Although neither country is known for their mechanical ventilator production, instrumental in informing the Spanish regulatory and industrial responses was their internal knowledge base due to domestic experts and existing capabilities in ventilator production. We conclude by proposing new theory for how nations might identify important core competencies to enhance their dynamic (regulatory) capabilities in areas likely to be critical to their social welfare.

Effect of medical innovation policies on the prevention and control of the COVID-19 and the impact of the "Belt and Road" economy.

With the spread of the COVID-19, it is urgent for everyone to protect themselves. The introduction of the medical innovation policy has also brought certain effects to the prevention and control of the COVID-19. The specific effect will be reflected in the following research. This paper firstly analyzed research results related to medical innovation policy, COVID-19 prevention and control, and the "One Belt, One Road" economy, finding out the content that fits this research, and innovates the research work on this basis. Then, this paper provided a detailed explanation of medical innovation policies, the prevention and control of the COVID-19, and the "One Belt, One Road" economy. Among them, this paper focuses on the "One Belt and One Road," uses the α-convergence model to analyze the economic changes of the "One Belt and One Road," and conducts experimental tests in the medical field. The results have shown that from 2017 to 2019, the average hospitalization expenses paid by the pooled funds were 4986.19, 4997.34, and 4888.60 yuan, respectively.

Open innovation during the COVID-19 pandemic policy responses in South Africa and Kenya.

Most governments upscaled technological adaptations and integration into public service delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic policy responses globally. This article analyzes the context of open innovation (OI) applications and initiatives that characterized public innovation trends and impacted government agencies' responses to contain different consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic in four critical areas: economic recovery strategies, logistics and supply chain, digital health-care partnerships, and collaborations. We show how policy responses increased the uptake and upscaling of OI strategies in Kenya and South Africa. In both countries, government agencies, among other things, upgraded innovative or created online integrated portals for instant data sharing and used knowledge management platforms to monitor the COVID-19 pandemic prevalence in transportation systems and the delivery of vaccines. These enabled effective policy communication and tracing of COVID-19 patients, organizing the population for the vaccination drive, and generating timely data for further action in the four mentioned sectors. Related Articles: Lachapelle, Erick, Thomas Bergeron, Richard Nadeau, Jean-François Daoust, Ruth Dassonneville, and Éric Bélanger. 2021. "Citizens' Willingness to Support New Taxes for COVID-19 Measures and the Role of Trust." Politics & Policy 49(3): 534-65. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12404.Liu, Zezhao, and Zhengwei Zhu. 2021. "China's Pathway to Domestic Emergency Management: Unpacking the Characteristics in System Evolution." Politics & Policy 49(3): 619-50. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12407.Pelizzo, Riccardo, and Abel Kinyondo. 2014. "Public Accounts Committees in Eastern and Southern Africa: A Comparative Analysis." Politics & Policy 42(1): 77-102. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12062.

La mayoría de los gobiernos mejoraron las adaptaciones tecnológicas y la integración en la prestación de servicios públicos durante las respuestas políticas a la pandemia de COVID­19 a nivel mundial. Este artículo analiza el contexto de las aplicaciones e iniciativas de Innovación Abierta (OI) que caracterizaron las tendencias de innovación pública e impactaron las respuestas de las agencias gubernamentales para contener diferentes consecuencias de la pandemia de COVID­19 en cuatro áreas críticas: estrategias de recuperación económica, logística y cadena de suministro, digital asociaciones y colaboraciones de atención médica. Mostramos cómo las respuestas políticas aumentaron la aceptación y la ampliación de las estrategias de OI en Kenia y Sudáfrica. En ambos países, las agencias gubernamentales, entre otras cosas, mejoraron o crearon portales integrados en línea innovadores para el intercambio instantáneo de datos y utilizaron plataformas de gestión del conocimiento para monitorear la prevalencia de la pandemia de COVID­19 en los sistemas de transporte y la entrega de vacunas. Estos permitieron una comunicación política efectiva y el rastreo de pacientes con COVID­19, organizando a la población para la campaña de vacunación y generando datos oportunos para acciones futuras en los cuatro sectores mencionados.

Managing the pandemic in German federal states: types of mobility restrictions and their impacts on co-presence in innovation ecosystems

This paper analyses the effects that mobility restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic have had on different types of co-presence, which the existing literature considers to be central for science and innovation. Drawing on a regional analysis of COVID-19 restrictions in Germany, it links specific mobility restrictions to concrete impacts on co-presence, differentiating between co-presence in organizations, dynamic temporary co-presence, and the local ‘buzz’. It highlights that co-presence at workplaces and conferences was resilient to restrictions but that the detrimental effects on the ‘local buzz’ may have been substantial and long-lasting. In conclusion, it cautions against the severe effects of placing restrictions on the education system. Subsequently, the discussion links the reported disruptions of co-presence to the potential effects of the pandemic on preconditions for innovative processes and economic recovery. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of European Planning Studies is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Conditions Driving Eco-Innovation in a Catching-Up Country—ICT vs. Industry in Poland

There is a necessity to combine the development of the European Union with a model of a sustainable economy, which is important to stimulate eco-innovation. The government of each member state is obliged to create support mechanisms that will encourage entrepreneurs to implement pro-environmental solutions. This requires the identification of determinants for eco-innovation. This paper identifies and compares conditions of eco-innovation in two sectors in Poland: ICT (information and communication technologies) and industry. Putting together many different types of conditions into one model (including government, science, industry, and ICT) allows us to explain what is more important when making a decision about implementing new eco-solutions. The study covered over 3000 enterprises. Stepwise logit regression was used to examine all relationships of interest. We discovered two separate (independent) paths of approach to eco-innovation for ICT and industry. This means that another condition should be fulfilled to reach any eco-innovation in each of the sectors. There are just a few factors supporting new environmental solutions in ICT with strong impact—cooperation with suppliers, journals as a source of new knowledge, or financial support by credit institutions with high materials and energy efficiency at the end of the process. Industry could be described more like a horizontal approach—a wide number of conditions with low impact on eco-innovation. Therefore, innovation policies in the catching-up country should be more sophisticated and take care of more relevant tools for both sectors.

Oxygenating Innovation? The Not-So-Brave New World of COVID-19?

Scaling value propositions as if stakeholders finally matter. Why is it that while COVID has imposed possibly the most VUCA: volatility (V), uncertainty (U), complexity (C) and ambiguity (A) in recent memory, many new and small firms are nonetheless scaling? What has COVID forced us to learn—or re-learn? Everywhere we turn, we hear about “Industry 4.0” where industry players and stakeholders make up a complex, dynamic web of relationships, facilitated by ever-proliferating open innovation models and a recognition that linear relationships have given way to complex, dynamic ecosystems that require multilateral engagement (e.g., Müller et al., Technological Forecasting & Social Change 132:2–17, 2018). Alas, the dominant models for innovation systems remain firmly focused on institutional players too often to the exclusion of the innovators themselves. We need to understand that innovation communities are an ecosystem. This essay introduces the reader to what we might call the “ecosystem mindset.” © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Creativity as a Key Constituent for Smart Specialization Strategies (S3), What Is in It for Peripheral Regions? Co-creating Sustainable and Resilient Tourism with Cultural and Creative Industries

Sustainable tourism is one of the key sectors in the South Baltic Sea Region (SBSR), which belongs to the role model for sustainability—the Baltic Sea Region (BSR). In this context, resilience, recovery and sustainability become key common threads calling for new approaches mitigating negative impacts, upscaling resilience capacity and boosting recovery in the post-pandemic era. The present work aims at revealing conceptual and practical pathways for policy makers and businesses in revitalizing sustainable tourism in the region by emphasizing cultural and creative industries (CCIs) as strong contributors to sustainable development and economic ecosystems, such as tourism. Tourism is also one of the key thematic areas of the smart specialization strategies (S3) in the SBSR. However, there is almost no link between CCIs’ potential for sustainable and resilient tourism and their contribution to the co-design and co-creation of S3. CCIs are rather absent agents in quadruple helix networks supporting S3 policy implementation. The literature on this topic is still premature, and represents a clear gap in knowledge. By virtue of these circumstances, the present research investigates how CCIs contribute and reveal new linkages between local assets, potential markets and societal challenges by engaging them as proven sustainable innovation and transition brokers in transnational quadruple helix partnerships following S3 policies in accordance with the sustainable development goals (SDGs), thus supporting sustainable and resilient tourism. Moreover, this paper aims at advocating for development of rural and peripheral regions, thus reducing the so-called “rural marginalization”. In addition, this paper also supports ongoing recent discussions on related vs. unrelated diversification policy within the S3 realm.

A Coordinated Science? Revisiting the attempts to coordinate academic research

The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged a multitude of actors and sectors to carry out collective actions to solve the dramatic global health crisis, reviving a recurring problem in the history of humanity: the coordination of actions, or the lack of it. Science has not been an exception: the unbridled competition of countries and pharmaceutical companies to generate vaccines and treatments reveals that, far from being resolved, research coordination continues to be an ongoing issue. This article aims at making a critical review of the attempts to coordinate science in the last 40 years, with particular interest in federal countries, more prone to dispersion, duplication, and gaps. A literature review made it possible to revisit coordination policies and instruments and culminates in a proposal to study science policy networks in search of a more detailed analysis of the actors in the research ecosystem.

Role of Indian Higher Education Institutions towards Aatmanirbhar India: Government Policies and Initiatives to promote Entrepreneurship and Innovation

The Prime Minister of India in 2020 announced his vision of Aatmanirbhar India to make India an economically self-reliant nation. He shared this vision while announcing the 1st economic package to support the Indian population during the COVID19 pandemic. He believed Aatmanirbhar India could be achieved through pursuing policies that are competent, efficient, and resilient along with being self-generating and self-sustaining. This vision was well aligned and would contribute significantly to India's plan of becoming a USD 5 trillion economy by 2025. However, achieving this vision would have required systemic changes in India's DNA as a larger section of the India population needed to become Innovators and Entrepreneurs. One element of adapting to this new DNA was envisioned through the development of innovation and entrepreneurial mindset among the youth of the country. It was important to capitalize on the potential of the young minds and awaken the innovators among the students in K-12 and especially higher education. In the last 3 years, the Ministry of Education (previously Ministry of Human Resource Development) along with other central organizations such as the AICTE (All India Council for Technical Education), UGC (University Grants Commission) etc have come up with a range of policies and initiatives, all strategically aligned to foster an ecosystem for entrepreneurship and innovation (IE) in higher education institutions (HEIs). In this paper, we highlight a set of initiatives and policies launched up by the government of India to promote entrepreneurship and innovation in HEI's. We elaborate on the National Startup and Innovation Policy, New Education Policy (NEP) along with national initiatives such as Smart India Hackathon, ARIAA (National IE ranking) and others. Case-studies are presented of noteworthy HEI's who have transformed themselves by using the government's efforts as catalysts to nurture IE. At the end, we highlight the potential of HEI's in India to collectively contribute to helping India become Aatmanirbhar (self-reliant) in the post-Pandemic world. © 2021 IEEE.

On the syndemic nature of crises: A Freeman perspective.

In this paper we draw a parallel between the insights developed within the framework of the current COVID-19 health crisis and the views and insights developed with respect to the long term environmental crisis, the implications for science, technology and innovation (STI) policy, Christopher Freeman analyzed already in the early 90's. With at the time of writing, the COVID-19 pandemic entering in many countries a third wave with a very differentiated implementation path of vaccination across rich and poor countries, drawing such a parallel remains of course a relatively speculative exercise. Nevertheless, based on the available evidence of the first wave of the pandemic, we feel confident that some lessons from the current health crisis and its parallels with the long-term environmental crisis can be drawn. The COVID-19 pandemic has also been described as a " syndemic ": a term popular in medical anthropology which marries the concept of 'synergy' with 'epidemic' and provides conceptually an interesting background for these posthumous Freeman reflections on crises. The COVID-19 crisis affects citizens in very different and disproportionate ways. It results not only in rising structural inequalities among social groups and classes, but also among generations. In the paper, we focus on the growing inequality within two particular groups: youngsters and the impact of COVID-19 on learning and the organization of education; and as mirror picture, the elderly many of whom witnessed despite strict confinement in long-term care facilities, high mortality following the COVID-19 outbreak. From a Freeman perspective, these inequality consequences of the current COVID-19 health crisis call for new social STI policies: for a new "corona version" of inclusion versus exclusion.

A research and policy agenda for the post-pandemic world.

The COVID-19 pandemic response has engaged the academic, public, private and health sectors in the real-time development of technologies and practices to enable predictive, preventive, personalised and participatory (P4) health. Myriad cases of collaborative innovation across these sectors have emerged throughout the pandemic response (despite certain observed technical, social and institutional barriers) that serve as examples to address post-pandemic health system challenges. In this paper, we propose a joint research and policy agenda to generate the knowledge and practices to identify and extend these acute gains toward chronic health system challenges in the post-pandemic era. We identify three key themes for post-pandemic research and policy: the dialectic between novel and traditional techniques, the tension between centralised and local decision-making, and cooperation across academic disciplines, sectors and borders. Going forward, attention to these three themes by researchers and policymakers will help align our health, policy, academic and technological systems to provide better health for all.

COVID-19 Is a Crisis in Planetary Health and Politics of Expertise: Time to Think Critically and Innovate Both.

This expert review offers an analysis of the global governance of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic is not only a health crisis but also a crisis of global governance. For example, the nation states in dealing with the crises of the pandemic have turned inwards, toward native and national solutions, and therefore away from the much-needed global cooperation to respond to the pandemic. This is an important concern for systems medicine and integrative biology in both normative and instrumental sense. Moreover, if we are to "pandemic-proof" the planet and the life science innovation ecosystem, new ways of understanding global governance are called for. This article examines the ways in which national governments have reacted to the crises triggered and embodied by the COVID-19 pandemic, surfaces the different approaches and conflicts between scientific experts and policy makers, and reveals the failure of science and politics. I analyze the uneven and disjointed way Western democratic governments have responded to the crisis and the way unchecked normative values and ideas have influenced the pandemic policy and prevented effective measures to contain the pandemic. Finally, the complex relationships between politics, knowledge, science, and governments are explored and clarified, and the way the COVID-19 crisis highlighted the long-standing tensions between technocracy and democracy. In conclusion, it is time to think critically and reflexively for all knowledge actors in systems science and innovate both planetary health and its global governance.

Closing the Gap Between Emerging Initiatives and Integrated Strategies to Strengthen Science Diplomacy in Latin America.

Science diplomacy is a fast-growing field of research, policy, and practice dedicated to understanding and reinforcing the connections between science and international affairs to tackle national, regional, and global issues. By aligning science and diplomacy, countries can attract talent, strengthen their national research ecosystems, provide avenues for participation of scientists in policy, and coordinate integrated solutions to challenges with technical dimensions. While Latin America has a long tradition of bilateral and regional cooperation, science still plays a marginal role in foreign policy, as has become evidenced by the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. With few exceptions, Latin American nations have a relatively immature science, technology, and innovation ecosystem, compounded by low public and private investments in research, coexisting with profound socio-economic inequalities, and large vulnerable populations. Such challenging conditions have created barriers to a fluid relationship between science and diplomacy, fundamentally characterized by inefficient communication between scientists and policymakers, weak collaboration channels, and duplicated roles, which altogether perpetuate siloed mentalities and a lack of trust between the two communities. Over the last decade, a first influential wave of Latin American scientists, diplomats, and other professionals, including five of the co-authors, have undertaken science diplomacy training provided by specialized organizations. Through these experiences, we recognized the need to elevate awareness and build capacities in science diplomacy in our respective countries and overall, across Latin America. Here, we describe emerging efforts and mechanisms to bridge the gap between scientists and policymakers at the national and regional level. Furthermore, we offer recommendations to amplify the impact of those pioneering initiatives toward consolidating a robust science diplomacy practice across the region. The national experiences described from Costa Rica, Mexico, and Panama can serve as a roadmap for other Latin American nations in the early process of developing a science diplomacy strategy, so they can also align themselves to a collective pathway. Most critically, we propose a way forward so that Latin America can leapfrog beyond disjointed training of individuals into integrated institutional strategies that can harness the tools of science diplomacy to enhance science-informed multilateral cooperation and enable more effective science-informed policymaking.

COVID-19 Digital Health Innovation Policy: A Portal to Alternative Futures in the Making.

"The pandemic is a portal." In the words of the novelist scholar Arundhati Roy, the COVID-19 pandemic is not merely an epic calamity. It has opened up a new space, a portal, to rethink everything, for example, in how we live, work, produce scientific knowledge, provide health care, and relate to others, be they humans or nonhuman animals in planetary ecosystems. Meanwhile, as the intensity of the pandemic escalates, digital health tools such as the Internet of Things (IoT), biosensors, and artificial intelligence (AI) are being deployed to address the twin goals of social distancing and health care in a "no touch" emergency state. Permanent integration of digital technologies into every aspect of post-pandemic civic life-health care, disease tracking, education, work, and beyond-is considered by governments and technology actors around the world. Although digital transformation of health care and industry are in the works, we ought to ensure that digital transformation does not degenerate into "digitalism," which we define here as an unchecked and misguided belief on extreme digital connectivity without considering the attendant adverse repercussions on science, human rights, and everyday practices of democracy. Indeed, the current shrinking of the critically informed public policy space amid a devastating pandemic raises principled questions on the broader and long-term impacts that digital technologies will have on democratic governance of planetary health and society. To this end, a wide range of uncertainties-technical, biological, temporal, spatial, and political-is on the COVID-19 pandemic horizon. This calls for astute and anticipatory innovation policies to steer the health sciences and services toward democratic ends. In this article, we describe new and critically informed approaches to democratize COVID-19 digital health innovation policy, especially when the facts are uncertain, the stakes are high, and decisions are urgent, as they often are in the course of a pandemic. In addition, we introduce a potential remedy to democratize pandemic innovation policy, the concept of "epistemic competence," so as to check the frames and framings of the pandemic innovation policy juggernaut and the attendant power asymmetries. We suggest that if epistemic competence, and attention to not only scientific knowledge but also its framing are broadly appreciated, they can help reduce the disparity between the enormous technical progress and investments made in digital health versus our currently inadequate understanding of the societal dimensions of emerging technologies such as AI, IoT, and extreme digital connectivity on the planet.