The emergence of Institutional Ethics Advisory Groups
Andrew Crowden1, University of Queensland St Lucia Brisbane 1University of Queensland, St Lucia Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Abstract
The establishment of Institutional Ethics Advisory Groups (EAGs) or Committees that act as a consultative forum where matters of ethics can be shared, discussed, explored and analysed in an open, collaborative and confidential manner is an initiative that is being increasingly adopted by universities, health services and other institutions worldwide. In a university for instance, an EAG may provide a consultative resource for review of ethics matters that arise from activities of the University, its staff and students that are not related to human research ethics. In this paper, after briefly outlining the development of such groups across the world, I will share with delegates the experience of establishing an EAG at the University of Queensland. I will show how the purpose, role and responsibilities of the group grew from a specific need to provide ethics oversight and advice for a diverse range of university activities. Examples of the types of cases considered by the group will be articulated. In the end I will argue that Ethics Advisory Groups are worthwhile. An institution is likely to benefit by establishing a place where methods of philosophical inquiry may be usefully applied to assist in opening moral space, provide knowledge, tools, understanding, in order to contribute justifiable philosophical reasons and potential solutions in situations where there are ethics challenges or conflicts.
Biography
Andrew Crowden is Honorary Professor in Philosophy at the University of Queensland’s School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry and an Adjunct Professor at the University of the Sunshine Coast (UniSC) where he is Chairperson of the Human Research Ethics Committee. He is Chairperson of the University of Queensland Ethics Advisory Group (UQEAG), an Executive member of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) Research Ethics Committee and a member of CSIRO’s Australian Health Biobank Advisory Group.