“A forum addressing ethical issues in research and promoting inclusive interactions amongst its community”
The Ethics and Data Sharing Working Group convened in August 2020; starting off with six members. Whilst the working group’s Terms of Reference are still under discussion, some ideas are already shaping their mandate. The group envisions a non-hierarchical structure that promotes inclusive interactions and activities within the ethics domain. Through informal interactions and peer-to-peer learning, substantial ethics skills and knowledge may be honed and could also assist researchers with varied levels of expertise in engaging with ethical issues in research. An opportunity is also created to encourage young researchers and those new to the field of ethics to join the conversation.
An online platform, accessed through a standard web browser, is under development for these interactions. It will necessitate open, honest and frank discussions regarding ethical issues and dilemmas and how research ethics should be implemented. Such conversations, hopefully, will bring the research and ethics communities closer. The envisioned community will drive and guide the forum and this includes ethicists, researchers, scientists and policy-makers from all fields, disciplines across different countries. Apart from discussions on ethical issues, the platform may extend to information sharing on funding opportunities, training and collaboration opportunities including authors collaboration for new papers, flagging current relevant publications, and a platform to ask for ethics advice and offer guidance to other members of the community. However, the addition of new sections will continually evolve, based on suggestions from the user community.
Please contact Nicki at [email protected] for more information.
