Ethics & Accountability

IBE Ethics & Accountability Framework

(our commitment to each other)

1. We are committed to being governed by the law, traditions, and protocols of the communities with which we work and on whose land we meet;
2. We expect our research team to act in ethical ways that adhere to those laws, traditions, and protocols referenced above, in addition to meeting our commitments to align our research practices with OCAP and SSHRC Indigenous research ethics, and best practices for community-engaged research frameworks;
3. While we will adhere to a multiplicity of Indigenous governing protocols, across different communities, and expect nation-to-nation differences, we also anticipate universal commitments to relational ways of being. For example, we expect all researchers to follow the commonplace expectation of being in good relations, with an open heart and open mind, and to always engage truthfully, transparently, and accountably;
4. We expect all researchers will not engage in practices that cause knowable or anticipated harms, and further expect all researchers to accept responsibility for harm caused by their own actions/inactions. We commit to assisting individual researchers in taking reparative actions when harm occurs, in accordance with the traditions and protocols of the communities we are working with;
5. In a commitment to transparency, we will advise the Governing Collective immediately when questions or concerns related to our research ethics or practices are brought to our attention, or made public;
6. We are committed to supporting people in becoming accountable, where they are open to that support and are willing to work to stop the harmful actions, acknowledge the harm, and work to repair relationships; and
7. We are committed to intervention practices that are transparent and open to scrutiny, and that involve those harmed by the actions to the extent desired.

INTERVENTION PROCESS
1. Where concerns about ethical breaches by researchers are brought forward, the Governing Collective will immediately convene a meeting;

2. The Governing Collective will determine the form of the initial communication to the team member affected, and will consider what type of process should be followed, including whether we need to meet with various parties separately; convene a smaller sub-committee to hear from a party; call in witnesses to our process; invite parties to bring their own witness and/or support person; and/or invite those who are alleging harm by the researcher to be involved;
3. At the meeting with the respondent team member, we will provide a synopsis of the expressed concerns and listen with an open mind to the researchers’ response;
4. The Governing Collective will determine whether there has been a breach of the Ethics and Accountability Framework;
5. We will consider whether the researcher accepts responsibility; agrees to stop the harmful behavior, and is willing to become accountable;
6. If reparations/accountability actions need to be taken, we will consider whether those can be internal to the team or need to involve external parties;
7. In certain circumstances where reparations are not possible or appropriate, where the researcher does not take adequate responsibility, or where the breach of the Framework is so fundamental that the research relationship is considered broken, the researcher may be removed from the project and the Governing Collective will work to restore relationships; and
7. We will communicate our process and outcomes to those affected.

You can download a PDF of IBE’s Ethics & Accountability Framework here.