Task Force on Ethics Reform: Call for Consultations

CIHR's Task Force on Ethics Reform is now accepting unsolicited submissions from all members of the research community.

The Governing Council of CIHR constituted the Task Force in November 2012 with the objective of evaluating whether the organization structure of CIHR currently meets its ethics mandate.

Members

  • Bartha Maria Knoppers (Chair)
  • Timothy Caulfield
  • Jim Lavery
  • Michael McDonald
  • Daryl Pullman

Mandate

Review and make recommendations to the Governing Council on:

  • CIHR's performance in the area of ethics since its inception
  • Innovative ways for CIHR to meet its ethics mandate
  • Evolving needs in the ethics field and gaps that must be filled to address them in alignment with CIHR's Health Research Roadmap (2009-2014)
  • Current structures and their appropriateness to meet the CIHR ethics mandate in the future
  • Role, accountability, and interrelationships of resulting entities should a new delivery structure be recommended

Call for Consultations

The Task Force is now seeking input from a wide variety of stakeholders to fulfill its mandate. Specific individuals are not being targeted for input; instead all members of the CIHR community are welcome to send submissions on their own accord in response to the following questions:

  • What would you like to see happen with ethics at CIHR?
  • What is your past/current/future role vis-à-vis ethics at CIHR?
  • What would you like to see CIHR do in the area of ethics?

Please ensure your submissions address the Task Force's limited mandate as strictly as possible. The Task Force is not empowered to look at substantive issues in ethics, but rather the functions, roles, and structures in place at CIHR for ethics. Additionally, given our very tight timeline succinct, usable answers and comments are appreciated.

Rest assured that anything submitted will not be circulated outside of the Task Force. However, excerpts may be taken for the Task Force's final report to CIHR's Governing Council. Under no circumstances will your responses be identified by name or organization.

The timeframe for this initiative is extremely tight, so please feel free to respond via email directly to the Chair (bartha.knoppers@mcgill.ca) with subject line "CIHR Ethics Task Force", no later than February 3, 2013. A formal letter of submission is not required but please put your submissions into a Word file.