From Real-World Challenges to a Global Code: How the PREPARED Code Was Built

Abstract

The PREPARED Code is a risk-based, values-driven framework that integrates research ethics and research integrity and is designed for a global audience. Developed over two years, this ambitious initiative required a collaborative, multidisciplinary effort led by an international team. The PREPARED team employed a range of methods to develop the code, including literature searches, scoping reviews, empirical studies, targeted consultations, ethical and legal analyses, and public consultation. This chapter explores the processes and methods used to develop the PREPARED Code, highlighting how real-world challenges in research ethics and research integrity during crises were identified, analysed and validated by stakeholders. It describes how these challenges were aligned with universally recognised moral values and grouped as risks, and how the risks were transformed into a clear, focused and jargon-free code of conduct. It also details the final stages of development, which involved iterative refinement of the code from Version 1 to Version 13, through extensive consultation and review.