Research partnerships between high-income and lower-income settings can be highly advantageous for both parties. On the other hand, they can lead to ethics dumping, the practice of exporting unethical research practices to lower-income settings. This Global Code of Conduct for Research in Resource-Poor Settings tries to prevent ethics dumping by presenting 23 articles that are:
• providing guidance across all research disciplines
• presenting clear, short statements in simple language to achieve the highest possible accessibility for all parties involved
• focusing on research collaborations that entail considerable imbalances of power, resources and knowledge
• using a new framework based on the values of fairness, respect, care and honesty
• offering a wide range of learning materials and affiliated information to support the Code of Conduct
• complementing the European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity through a particular focus on research in resource-poor settings.
Those applying the Code oppose double standards in research and support long-term equitable research relationships between partners in lower-income and high-income settings based on four core values: fairness, respect, care and honesty.