PURPOSE

A planning committee of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will organize and conduct a public workshop to explore innovative approaches sparked by COVID-19 to enhancing health systems preparedness and response to emerging infectious diseases. This workshop will consider basic scientific infrastructure and essential capabilities to support medical and behavioral countermeasures that were deployed during the COVID-19 pandemic response. Workshop participants will reflect on critical scientific infrastructure for stakeholder coordination and innovations that can facilitate rapid and effective responses to emerging threats. Virtual and in-person discussions at this workshop will discuss opportunities to:

• Broaden equitable collaboration, partnerships, and global coordination between academic, private, and public sectors, with participation of marginalized communities, to improve the research and development (R&D) of medical and behavioral countermeasures;
• Establish frameworks that address challenges to R&D stemming from the regulatory environment, including the review and approval of medical and behavioral countermeasures;
• Examine mechanisms for sustained financial, political, and operational support of the science behind health security and preparedness programs; and
• Enhance practical early and later stage communication strategies to support the adoption of scientific findings relevant to outbreak responses, including promotion of public trust in the biomedical research and public health enterprise.

Workshop discussions may also include discussion of science-community partnerships, as well as open science and transparency in the efficacy of public health measures, including campaigns and other outreach initiatives.