Policy-Making in Determining the Mission of Medical Sciences Universities during the COVID-19 Pandemic using Competitive Advantage and Scientific Strength

Background: The outbreak of 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) caused a pandemic in most countries, and how to face the pandemic is a major issue that needs to be addressed worldwide. Objectives: The current study aimed at determining the competitive advantage and scientific strength of medical sciences universities to face this pandemic Methods: A mixed-methods was employed to conduct the current study from May to April 2020 in three steps: a) identifying the academic departments with the most exposure to this pandemic; b) designing the protocol to calculate the scientific strength and competitive advantage, c) allocating the mission to academic departments. Result: The scientific strength and competitive advantage were calculated for clinical and non-clinical departments in all medical sciences universities. The obtained results indicated that some universities, for instance, Tehran, Shahid Beheshti, Iran, Isfahan, Mazandaran, Shiraz, Kerman, and Mashhad, had the most competitive advantage that would increase their responsibility to face this pandemic. Conclusion: Policy-makers that clearly identify the mission and objectives of their institutions and define the relevant tasks may have better performance based on the capacities and abilities of the medical sciences universities. Keywords: Coronavirus, COVID-19, Academic Departments, Scientific Strength, Competitive Advantage, Mission Differentiatio