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6. Call for applications for the Integrity Committee
EASA are setting up an Integrity Committee to provide independent review relating to issues of academic integrity raised by EASA members.
In 2020, in the light of the challenges of carrying out a review of the Hau affair, and at the recommendation of the Code of Conduct working group, a new Integrity Committee (hereafter IC) has been adopted and approved by the EASA Executive committee. The new IC is proposed to consist of the EASA President and another member of the EASA Exec committee, a member nominated by the Exec and two EASA members elected by the membership. In order to set this afoot, we are launching our first call for application for two EASA members to join the committee for the next four years, through membership elections organised in late spring.
The terms of reference for the Integrity committee set out its remit as having an independent scrutiny and review role in relation to questions of, or complaints relating to, academic integrity brought to it by one or more members of EASA. The committee can make reports of findings and recommendations to the EASA Executive Committee. In the event that one or more members of the Executive are the subject of the committee’s scrutiny, the Executive members of the committee shall recuse themselves from the work of the IC.
Terms and references of the Integrity Committee:
a. To offer an independent body for EASA members to which they can bring complaints and concerns about integrity and ethical issues that occur in the context of their work as anthropologists, in two circumstances: (i) where no institutional complaints procedure or other recourse to solve the issue is safely available to the members; or (ii) where a member feels that the issue concerns a wider question of ethics or integrity that the IC should be aware of.
b. To offer members an opportunity to be heard and supported when they are confronted with problems involving integrity and ethical issues in the course of their professional practice as anthropologists, responding to requests for advice by listening, consulting and offering guidance, either from individual members of the committee as a whole.
c. To write reports based on material submitted to the IC, on the understanding that the IC is not a legal entity and is unable to provide more than advice based on the IC’s expertise where appropriate. It may be appropriate for the IC to agree that a matter goes beyond its remit and can be more safely dealt with by other institutional bodies.
d. To develop a ‘living’ and accessible web-based repository of published information [M1] relating to integrity and ethical issues for members, including IC reports on anonymised analysis of ‘cases.’
e. To provide members with information on other possible sources of institutional support (e.g. within universities, unions, and arbitration and mediation services), particularly where the IC concludes that the case might merit something more than advice or review. The committee’s aim should be to highlight relevant support and refer complainants to support elsewhere when possible.
f. To be a point of reference for good conduct: to prepare briefings and guidelines for good practice professional standards that we hope will be of use to other researchers and institutions.
g. To ensure full anonymity and confidentiality for members who come to the IC
h. To anticipate emerging issues and future challenges in relation to academic integrity
If you are considering being a candidate for joining the Integrity Committee, please send a CV and letter of intention to the Secretary by the 15th of April monica.heintz(at)gmail.com
