---
id: "coronavirus-smarter-crowdsourcing:monitoring"
type: "GovLab topic page"
title: "Epidemiological monitoring and surveillance"
url: "https://coronavirus.smartercrowdsourcing.org/monitoring"
summary: "How can governments support a sustained recovery by developing and improving epidemiological monitoring and surveillance strategies for the “new normal?"
source: "The GovLab (coronavirus.smartercrowdsourcing.org)"
licence: "Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)"
---

# Epidemiological monitoring and surveillance

How can governments support a sustained recovery by developing and improving epidemiological monitoring and surveillance strategies for the “new normal?

[RECOMMENDATIONS MEMO](https://docs.google.com/document/d/13uUC9vu_Kf9slV9fPlgB417kl1AWfSGrCEav_HUPeIg/edit?usp=sharing) [CONFERENCE TAKEAWAYS](https://docs.google.com/document/d/17rubdNedrR8U2XzzvqUwLXwWTeWenmmevGOqcSZ4J_w/edit?usp=sharing)

## DESCRIPTION

Policymakers, healthcare workers, businesses, and the general public lack effective, accurate, and precise ways to monitor the status of COVID-19 in their jurisdictions and communities. This problem exists up and down the crisis management continuum, from prevention to response, to recovery. Governments lack the ability to detect emerging outbreaks, monitor and surveill existing outbreaks, collaborate with other governments and stakeholders to address and surveill outbreaks, and make evidence-informed decisions about when outbreaks are no longer a threat.

[READ THE PROBLEM DESCRIPTION](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jvmQ-jMLygoD8EfcPMOrJ1BOoaB-5-m-pMUrEUYa-7M/edit?usp=sharing) [READ THE REGIONAL REPORT](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1D8-jyCL58PT3_wyNSs1OpI1y2812tFQCiiX2858dlec/edit?usp=sharing) [AGENDA AND LOGISTICS](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rEsMoTa3IO0TAN969Hz8K-m6aAII8eHPz6fiKqTU41w/edit?usp=sharing) [EXPERTS AND PARTICIPANTS](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_UCvSUBPG8UjbzRVI5dGDGr9gJnRQGnKbxtLtAjYWGg/edit?usp=sharing)

## RECOMMENDATION

[

Enhance Data Collection

Enhance data collection capabilities through innovations in technologies, crowdsourcing, symptom-trackers, and partnerships.

](https://coronavirus.smartercrowdsourcing.org/recommendations/enhance-data-collection)

[

Improve Information Infrastructure

Improve public health monitoring and surveillance information infrastructure by standardizing data formats and definitions, sharing data, and developing regulations and legislation that support public health monitoring and surveillance.

](https://coronavirus.smartercrowdsourcing.org/recommendations/improve-information-infrastructure)

[

Increase Government Capacity

Increase government capacity to use public health monitoring and surveillance information to make policy and programmatic decisions.

](https://coronavirus.smartercrowdsourcing.org/recommendations/increase-government-capacity)

[EXPLORE THE RECOMMENDATIONS](https://coronavirus.smartercrowdsourcing.org/recommendations)