Modules

Research Ethics in a Global Environment

Instructions for:TraineeTrainer

Goal

To encourage learners to consider the types of ethics issues that are associated with research in a global environment and how they might be addressed.

The learning outcomes

At the end of this module, learners will be able to:

Discuss the specific ethics challenges associated with international collaborative research.
Explain when benefit sharing is required and what constitutes fair benefit sharing.
Distinguish between different types of ethics dumping and identify the causes.
Explain the measures that can be taken to prevent ethics dumping.

Duration (hours)

2

For whom is this important?

All stakeholders in research

Part of

iRECS

Steps

1International Collaborative Research

2Preventing Ethics Dumping

3Preventing Ethics Dumping cont.

9Main Benefits of International Collaborative Research

10Francis Kombe - Collaborative research

11Research - Who Benefits?

12Jan Van Der Westhuizen

13What is Benefit Sharing?

14What Constitutes Appropriate Benefits?

15Appropriate Benefit Sharing

16Ethics Dumping

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International Collaborative Research

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Main Benefits of International Collaborative Research

Some of the benefits of international collaborative research include that it:

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Francis Kombe - Collaborative research

In the rest of this module, we will be focussing specifically upon research collaborations that bring together parties from higher-income and lower-income settings. Often, these partnerships involve local groups or communities who are not researchers but nevertheless contribute to the research in a significant manner via participation or knowledge sharing etc. While these partnerships can be extremely fruitful for all concerned, they can also pose challenges for the equitable distribution of research benefits as described in the next section.

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Research - Who Benefits?

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Jan Van Der Westhuizen

Sometimes, the people who own or provide access to the resources are left with no benefits at all. For a long time, this was the case for the San Indigenous peoples of South Africa. You can hear from members of the San talk about protecting their Indigenous knowledge in this video. Listen to Jan Van Der Westhuizen talk about protecting San Indigenous knowledge.

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What is Benefit Sharing?

Exploitation of one or more partners can be a problem in international collaborative research because the benefits of research are not always distributed evenly. Researchers must take care to ensure that everyone involved is treated fairly.

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What Constitutes Appropriate Benefits?

Benefit sharing is a legal requirement for all countries that have adopted the CBD. But what constitutes appropriate benefits for those who share their resources in research? Click on the hotspots to see some suggestions.

Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization to the Convention on Biological Diversity

Appropriate benefit sharing arrangements may include a package of both monetary and non-monetary benefits. Most important is that fair benefits arrangements are discussed and agreed locally before the research begins.

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Appropriate Benefit Sharing

The last word on benefit sharing goes to Reverend Mario Mahongo, who was Chair of the South African San Council, 2000 – 2018.

What I want to say is, I think there should be a benefit for the people who are being researched. I don’t want researchers to see us as museums that cannot speak for themselves and that don’t expect something in return. We are humans who deserve support. At the end of the day, the researcher is happy because he received what he wanted from us, but we also need to be happy in what we receive from him because we also want to benefit from the research. So, we will allow them to do the research, but it must be based on equality, not one-sided.

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Ethics Dumping

Humanities’ challenges require global research, yet global research can have a dark side. Ethics dumping. When researchers from privileged settings offshore unethical research to lower income settings, that's ethics dumping. It can happen on purpose, but also due to lack of awareness and cultural misunderstandings.

Research from the Trust Group identified six types of ethics dumping, even though others might still emerge. Probably the best known type of ethics dumping is the application of double standards, where exploitative practises that are not accepted in a high income setting are used in a lower income setting. For instance, 3 clinical trials on cervical cancer screening methods were conducted in India from 1998 to 2015.

254 women in the North screening arm died due to cervical cancer. A no screening control arm would not have been allowed in the USA but was accepted by the US funders for these clinical trials in India.

Another commonly known type of ethics dumping is also called helicopter research. This occurs when researchers from a higher income setting fly into a lower income setting to conduct a study and make use of resources without fair benefit sharing. For example, in 1995, a research team from the US university obtained blood samples from 10s of thousands of impoverished Chinese villages. A US based company linked to the university received multimillion dollar investments on the basis of the collected genetic information.

One type of ethics dumping, which is often not done on purpose, involves culturally inappropriate conduct. This is a particular challenge in global research. For instance, in many regions of the world, community assent or approval will be necessary before research can be conducted ethically. It is the responsibility of the researchers to find out what is culturally appropriate conduct in any new setting.

A related issue that is also linked to insufficient local knowledge involves a lack of due diligence. This can put local research participants at risk. For instance, in Kenya, where sex work is illegal, collecting personal data about sex workers can put them at high risk of incrimination.

Dishonesty in global research is another form of ethics dumping which occurs regularly. For instance, where funding proposals require participation from lower income countries, researchers are recruited with promises of equal rights and equal budgets, which are not honoured. Later, research participants are promised feedback on the study they are recruited to, but the researchers do not return and the promises are not kept.

Finally, patronising conduct is also a form of ethics dumping. If research teams from a higher income country assume an air of knowing best, even in a foreign setting, the collaboration is disrespectful and can lead to inappropriate or insensitive results.

Ethics dumping damages trust and adds unfair burdens onto those who are already burdened. It is therefore essential that researchers work as closely as possible with local collaborators and reflect together on ways to prevent ethics dumping.

As you learned from this video, ethics dumping can take many different forms. The group who developed the TRUST Code explored different cases and types of ethics dumping prior to the development of the code. You can read about 14 of the cases that they explored in this open access book: Ethics Dumping Case Studies from North-South Research Collaborations

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Preventing Ethics Dumping

The TRUST Code, a global code of conduct for equitable research partnerships, was designed to address ethics dumping. You can watch two videos here about the code: one gives an overview of the code, and one introduces its 23 articles.

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Preventing Ethics Dumping cont.

In the next video you will hear from some of the people who were involved in developing the TRUST Code, summarizing the 23 articles that promote equitable research partnerships in international collaborative research.

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The !Khwas ttu Kids

The final video in this module is the winning video from the FGVA sponsored rap, dance and music competition held for the TRUST project. "We are the San", from !Khwa ttu Kids is a representation of the values of fairness, respect, care and honesty through song, film and dance. Congratulations to the team at !Khwa ttu.

If you want to learn more, please visit the bibliography and further reading page for some relevant resources.

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End of Module Quiz

You can try these questions to see whether your learning from this module addresses the intended learning outcomes. No one else will see your answers. No personal data is collected.

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Module Evaluation

Thank you for taking this irecs module!

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To this end we have developed a short questionnaire, which will take from 5 to 10 minutes to answer. Your anonymity is guaranteed; you won’t be asked to share identifying information or any sensitive information. Data will be handled and stored securely and will only be used for the purposes detailed above. You can find the questionnaire by clicking on the link below.

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Thank you!

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Glossary of Terms

Equality

Equality implies that people are treated equally in terms of rights, or access to services etc. without discrimination or unfair advantage. In the context of social justice and human rights, equality involves equal access to resources and opportunities, as well as ensuring that individuals are not disadvantaged or marginalised. This can include efforts to address systemic inequalities, discrimination, and barriers to full participation in society.

Equity

Equity refers to fairness in the distribution of resources, opportunities, and rights. It involves ensuring that everyone has access to what they need to thrive and reach their full potential, regardless of their background, identity, or circumstances. Unlike equality, which aims to treat everyone the same, equity recognizes that different individuals or groups may require different levels of support or resources to achieve equal outcomes.

Intellectual property rights

Intellectual property rights (IPR) refer to the legal rights granted to individuals or entities to protect their creations or inventions, which can include inventions, literary and artistic works, designs, symbols, names, and images used in commerce. These rights typically include patents, copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets, granting creators or owners exclusive rights to use and control their intellectual property for a specified period. These rights enable individuals and organizations to benefit financially from their innovations and creativity while fostering innovation and creativity by providing incentives for research, development, and investment.

Traditional knowledge

Traditional knowledge encompasses the accumulated wisdom, practices, and innovations passed down through generations within a specific culture or community. It includes knowledge about the natural environment, biodiversity, agricultural practices, healing methods, cultural expressions, and other aspects of traditional lifestyles. Traditional knowledge is often orally transmitted and deeply rooted in local customs, beliefs, and experiences. It plays a vital role in sustainable development, biodiversity conservation, and the preservation of cultural heritage.

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Bibliography

Articles and books

Chatfield, K., Schroeder, D., Guantai, A., Bhatt, K., Bukusi, E., Adhiambo Odhiambo, J., ... & Kimani, J. (2021). Preventing ethics dumping: the challenges for Kenyan research ethics committees. Research Ethics, 17(1), 23-44. Available at: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1747016120925064 (Free to download)

Schroeder, D. (2007). Benefit sharing: it’s time for a definition. Journal of medical ethics, 33(4), 205-209.

Schroeder, D., & Pisupati, B. (2010). Ethics, justice and the convention on biological diversity. Available at: https://clok.uclan.ac.uk/9695/1/Ethics,%20Justice%20and%20the%20convention.pdf (Free to download)

Schroeder, D., Cook, J., Hirsch, F., Fenet, S., & Muthuswamy, V. (2018). Ethics dumping: case studies from north-south research collaborations. Springer Nature. Available at: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-319-64731-9 (Free to download)

Schroeder, D., Chatfield, K., Singh, M., Chennells, R., & Herissone-Kelly, P. (2019). Equitable research partnerships: a global code of conduct to counter ethics dumping (p. 122). Springer Nature. Available at: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-15745-6 (Free to download)

Schroeder, D., Chatfield, K., Muthuswamy, V., & Kumar, N. K. (2021). Ethics Dumping–How not to do research in resource-poor settings. Journal of Academics Stand Against Poverty, 1(1), 32-55. Available at: https://journalasap.org/index.php/asap/article/view/4 (Free to download)

Wynberg, R., Schroeder, D., & Chennells, R. (2009). Indigenous peoples, consent and benefit sharing: lessons from the San-Hoodia case (Vol. 15). Berlin: Springer.

Research ethics codes

The San Code of Research Ethics, available from: https://www.globalcodeofconduct.org/affiliated-codes/

The TRUST Global Code of Conduct for Equitable Research Partnerships, available from: https://www.globalcodeofconduct.org/

Videos

More videos can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/@trustandprepared1000

Steps

Other information