International Development Research Centere Research Award 2019

Research award: Advisory Committee on Research Ethics 2019

Deadline: November 16, 2018, 4:00p.m (EDT)

IDRC is one of the world’s leaders in generating new knowledge to meet global challenges. We offer a number of research awards providing a unique opportunity to enhance research skills and gain a fresh perspective on crucial development issues. These one‐year, paid, in‐house programs of training and mentorship allow award holders to pursue their research goals and work in one of IDRC’s dynamic program or division teams.

IDRC’s Advisory Committee on Research Ethics (ACRE) seeks a research awardee who can support research ethics programming activities and make a scholarly contribution to research ethics in international development.

ACRE provides guidance to staff in the assessment and oversight of the research undertaken and/or supported by IDRC. ACRE’s mission is also to strengthen IDRC employees’ capacity to identify and address research ethics concerns that arise in their work. The successful candidate will allocate approximately 50% of his/her time to support ACRE’s coordinator and chair in implementing the Committee’s mandate and annual work plan.

The research awardee will occasionally support the host program (Agriculture and Food Security or Food, Environment and Health) in its program management, the planning of events and activities around research ethics.

Specifically, activities will include:

• Coordinating seminars and training events on research ethics for IDRC employees;
• Maintaining and expanding IDRC’s database of resources on research ethics, including through the development of case studies;
• Developing and updating internal policies and standard operating procedures;
• Providing support to the review process of research proposals;
• Promoting ACRE’s services internally and externally (e.g., web announcements, Twitter);
• Contributing to the strengthening of ACRE’s relationship with external stakeholders, such as the Tri-Council Secretariat on Responsible Conduct of Research and the Global Health Ethics Unit of the World Health Organization.

For the remaining 50% of his/her time at IDRC, the research awardee will conduct an individual research project under the guidance of a senior program officer from either the Agriculture and Food Security program or the Food, Environment and Health program depending on the research focus.

Possible types and topics of research projects may include, but are not limited to:

• Analysis of ethical considerations relevant to improving food systems for public health (e.g. governance, ethics and terms of engagement with the commercial sector, bridging global policy recommendations with realities of local implementation and impact);
• Exploration of the ethical dilemmas in implementation of public health interventions in the context of complex emergencies
• Exploration of ethical issues that may arise in research involving animal testing vaccines
• Analysis of ethical issues in research on human nutrition, especially in children under 5, and
• The involvement of vulnerable groups, such as women and adolescent girls, in implementation research efforts.

IDRC will not approve travel to a region where there is an advisory to avoid all travel. It will be your responsibility to ensure that you follow all Government of Canada travel advisories while applying, when planning your trip, and while in the field. If your proposal is selected and the advisory changes, you will still be required to follow it even after a contract is signed.

The successful candidate will be expected to present his/her research plan and provide progress updates to ACRE and to the host program throughout the award.

Applicants should clearly outline their qualifications for this position, explain how this opportunity will advance their career goals, highlight the importance of their proposed scholarly contribution, and recognize the dual nature of the position (i.e. applied research activity and programmatic support for ACRE).