Burnet Institute is a collaborator in an exciting new initiative, the Australian COVID-19 Modelling Initiative (ACMI), to facilitate access to the latest COVID-19 modelling for the public and policy makers.

Comprising several research groups, ACMI aims to:

• make COVID-19 modelling more transparent and available for the public and policy makers,
• facilitate the comparison of modelling approaches and outcomes,
• collate modelling research from independent academic research groups, across alternative modelling approaches, and
• draw attention to when different modelling approaches agree/disagree, and what this means for further research priorities and policymaking.

Burnet Institute Deputy Director Professor Margaret Hellard AM said ACMI will help to improve transparency around COVID-19 modelling, as well as public literacy and understanding.

“We are asking people to stay home, to get tested, to get a vaccine, and we are asking people to help us to control a pandemic,” Professor Hellard said.

“People are at the centre of it, so they are entitled to know how and why decisions are being made, and why they are being asked to do an ongoing public service.

“ACMI will provide resources to explain as simply and as clearly as possible and in a timely manner why we need the public to be engaged.”

ACMI’s founding contributors are:

• Burnet Institute
• Centre for Complex Systems & Sydney Institute for Infectious Diseases
• University of Western Australia’s Department of Computer Science & Software Engineering
• Population Interventions Unit, MSPGH, University of Melbourne

Find out more from the ACMI website.