Office for Research | | © Griffith University Resourcing practice, not policing compliance: a new role for ethics committees and administrators Dr Gary Allen Senior Manager, Research Ethics and Integrity Senior Consultant, Australasian Human Research Ethics Consultancy Services

Office for Research | | © Griffith University The rush to solve big problems can create worse ones The problem: How do we ensure that our research adheres to high ethical standards and the rights, welfare and dignity of those who participate in our research are safeguarded? How do we reassure funding bodies, regulators, politicians, the media and community that we take our responsibilities seriously? In our attempts to solve this problem, have we created a worse one?

Office for Research | | © Griffith University Reflections on the limitations of our current approach Scandal driven conception and evolution Compliance and enforcement thinking Treating the 99+% because of the behaviour of <1% Does this approach catch the dangerous minority? Weberian Orthodoxy

Office for Research | | © Griffith University Symptoms of the problem Almost exclusive focus on ethical review Have you ‘done ethics yet?’ Researchers outsourcing ethical responsibility Unthinking or grudging compliance, avoidance and misrepresentation Ethics training being reduced so that it is just about better form filling Crippling workload for reviewers and administrators Institutional anxiety about risk exposure

Office for Research | | © Griffith University The National Statement (2007) The National Statement is not the problem though it is not without its limitations Are we trapped by past practice? The National Statement and the Australian Code: Institutional responsibility Recognising the challenges and flexibility that are open to us Policies, processes and forms aren’t enough for us to claim we are promoting a culture of ethical and appropriate conduct Could we actually be encouraging researchers not be reflective? Could we actually be making things worse?

Office for Research | | © Griffith University Eeeek!

Office for Research | | © Griffith University Reflective practice Personal, rather than outsourced, ethical responsibility An approval certificate is a step, not the end Continued reflection on: integrity matters such as conflicts of interest; beneficence; respect for persons; and justice Responsibilities continue through analysis, write up, reporting / publication, and management of data / materials Regards research ethics as a design, conduct, quality and professional concern – not ‘just’ a matter of compliance and bureaucratic concern There is a reciprocal obligation for those of us who participate in and /or administer ethical reviews

Office for Research | | © Griffith University Strategies to resource reflective practice Resource materials rather than rules Use of mentors and collegiate advisors Training, training, training – Focused upon principles, strategies to apply the principles to challenges, not just form filling Top down (institutional and element leaders) and bottom up (HDR and supervisor training, new staff and experienced staff – shhhh) Inviting two way communication – Welcoming innovation, praising thoughtful and elegant strategies, inviting feedback, striving to be a learning institution, and seeing complaints as valuable. Continuous improvement Shift institutional ethos from relying solely on HREC review as a demonstrating the institution is serious about ethical conduct. Ethical review to advise and inform, rather than to clear / approve

Office for Research | | © Griffith University Thank you for your attention Dr Gary Allen Senior Manager, Research Ethics and Integrity Office for Research, Griffith University Ph: Fax: