Achieving equity in international research is one of the pressing concerns of the 21st century. Many international groups and organisations are working on governance frameworks and standards to guide research activities after progressive globalization. However, their efforts are disparate and lacking a guiding vision. In an interdisciplinary collaboration between multi-level ethics bodies, policy advisors/makers, civil society organisations, funding organisations, industry and academic scholars from a range of disciplines, this project combines long-standing, highly respected efforts to build international governance structures with new exciting network opportunities in Europe, India, Sub-Saharan Africa, China and Russia.
TRUST will open up new horizons in improving adherence to high ethical standards globally. The project’s strategic output are three sets of tools based on participatory engagement covering all continents: (1) a global code of conduct for funders (2) a fair research contracting on-line tool and (3) a compliance and ethics follow-up tool, which takes limited resources into account.
The goal of the TRUST Project is to catalyse a global collaborative effort to improve adherence to high ethical standards around the world.
The guiding vision of TRUST is three-fold:
- The overall principles of global research ethics must be applicable to researchers in all disciplines.
- The long-term benefits of equitable partnerships versus the disadvantages of quick-and-dirty “ethics dumping” must infuse the global research ethics framework.
- TRUST will exemplify the principles of responsible research and innovation in all collaborations and thereby provide a model for equitable partnerships in research.