The COVID-19 pandemic is a timely reminder of how hazards within the complex and changing global risk landscape can affect lives, livelihoods and health. Reflecting on COVID-19, it has emerged that the need for scientific research has been critical to provide evidence and data to inform guidance for policy makers. Various global, national and local networks and organisations have delivered reviews of the COVID-19 pandemic and are providing suggested pathways for recovery and building back better, and this debate continues at many levels. The World Health Organisation remained critical to the engagement and delivery of COVID-19 response, and is also delivering on the WHO Health Emergency and Disaster Risk Management Framework, its research network and the publication of the guidance on research methods to reflect COVID-19 and other hazards and risks. As an example of global scientific engagement, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2025–2030 ‘all hazards’ approach has resulted in the publication of the United Nations office for Disaster Risk Reduction and the International Science Council (UNDRR/ISC) Hazard Definition and Classification Review (2020) and a supplement of 302 Hazard Information Profiles was published in October 2021. This all-hazard approach is contributing to understanding the importance for early warning and disaster-related statistics. Increasingly the need for knowledge exchange hubs or centres is being recognised, since they provide platforms for evidence-sharing to inform disaster risk reduction policies and practices. Such centres or hubs, along with science strategies for data infrastructure, knowledge mobilisation, rapid learning systems and implementation science, will help to identify further research gaps which are of import for evidence to inform policies in times of crises.