College of Reviewers Membership Agreement
1. Interpretation
1.1 Definitions
A capitalized term has the meaning given to it in this section
- "College" means the College of Reviewers.
- "Member" means the individual who has accepted an invitation to the College and who has agreed to the terms outlined in the College of Reviewers Membership Agreement.
1.2 Term of Agreement
This Agreement will be effective the date accepted or signed by the Member. At any time, a Member may choose to end their membership term. Members are expected to fulfill any outstanding peer review commitments they have made prior to ending their membership.
CIHR reserves the right to end College memberships at any time.
2. Purpose and Principles
2.1 Purpose of Agreement
The purpose of this Agreement is to set out the expectations of membership in the College.
2.2 Principles
This Agreement is shaped by a set of core principles. In accepting to join the College, Members agree to apply the principles listed below to any role they fulfill within the College.
- Participation - Peer review depends, by definition, on the willingness of peers and the reciprocity of grantees to participate in peer review. Participation in peer review provides Members with an opportunity to share ideas, learn from others, and embrace the collective effort to move science forward. The success of peer review hinges on the participation of Members and the pool of expertise available to review applications.
- Confidentiality - Confidentiality is at the center of maintaining trust in peer review. It is essential that all information acquired while participating in the peer review process is protected and handled with the utmost care and respect.
- Excellence - Peer review is the internationally accepted benchmark for ensuring quality and excellence in scientific research. The College supports excellence in the practice and management of peer review by providing documentation, learning and support to enable Members to apply their own expertise in peer review.
- Impartiality, fairness and honesty - Success of peer review is critically dependent upon the willingness and ability of all reviewers to be fair and transparent; to exercise rigorous judgment; and to understand and consider in a balanced way, the strengths and weaknesses of each application. Peer review is intended to be fair and unbiased, with appropriate processes to manage real, perceived, or potential conflicts of interest.
- Integrity - Peer review is essential in helping to maintain the integrity of research and its scientific quality. The College structure contributes to the integrity of peer review, by providing consistency in actions, methods, measures, principles and expectations. College Members are expected to act in good faith and in the best interest of Canada, CIHR, and the research community for the purpose of supporting the creation of new knowledge and its translation.
- Transparency and Accountability - Peer review ensures accountability to the Canadian public. Transparency assures that health research projects are reviewed with the best interests of Canadians in mind. Transparency is demonstrated through open communication, published policies, standards, and procedures as well as measurement and reporting of results. Applications for funding will be reviewed in accordance with published criteria for each funding opportunity.
3. Responsibilities of the Member
3.1 Participation & Learning
The Member agrees to:
- Acknowledge peer review or advisory invitations, and accept when possible;
- Actively participate in peer review or advisory processes, including providing high-quality reviews when applicable, contributing to discussions and deliberations, and participating in mentorship activities (if requested);
- Maintain their Reviewer Profile by updating/validating their information and periods of unavailability, as required;
- Complete the necessary College learning activities; and
- Inform CIHR of their intention to retire from research activities.
3.2 Performance Management & Quality Assurance
The Member agrees to:
- Allow CIHR to monitor their participation in College and peer review activities to inform College processes such as member recognition, promotion, and renewal; and
- Allow CIHR to analyze their peer review data for the purpose of continuously improving peer review related processes, including the Review Quality Assurance (RQA) process.
3.3 Sharing of Information
The Member agrees to:
- Allow CIHR to provide data to their primary research institution or organization (if applicable) regarding their participation and peer review activities;
- Allow CIHR to share their name and institution (if applicable) on its website, for the purpose of recognizing College Members and highlighting their overall demographics, unless the Member has made a written request to opt-out of sharing this information;
- Allow CIHR to use their Reviewer Profile data to inform College activities, including but not limited to, sharing this data with Competition Chairs to support the matching and assignment of reviewers to applications;
- Allow CIHR to use their anonymized reviews in analyses, training materials or any other means that support the objective of improving CIHR systems and processes;
- Allow CIHR to share information from their Reviewer Profile (with the exception of demographic data), with partner organizations to aid in reviewer recruitment requests, unless the Member has made a written request to opt-out of sharing this information with partners; and
- Allow CIHR to share or use their peer review data, upon request, for anything not exclusively mentioned above, provided that CIHR first details the proposed use and obtains the written consent of the Member.
3.4 Confidentiality
The Member agrees:
- To abide by the Conflict of Interest and Confidentiality Policy of the Federal Research Funding Organizations;
- That all information received through or related to his or her involvement with the College is hereby deemed "Confidential Information" and includes, without limitation, applications, proposals, meeting materials, College deliberations, discussions, evaluations of applications, and peer review documents;
- To not share or disclose Confidential Information with anyone, including with their employers or organizations; and
- To not use Confidential Information for the benefit of the Member or of any other individual or organization.
4. Responsibility of CIHR in conducting activities related to the College
4.1 Participation & Learning
CIHR agrees to:
- Manage the use of College Members centrally, including information management and monitoring the adequacy of the College’s expertise base;
- Manage and monitor Members’ workload and activities in relation to CIHR peer review;
- Respect periods of unavailability when members have proactively shared this information in their profile; and
- Offer opportunities for learning and mentorship to Members.
4.2 Performance Management & Quality Assurance
CIHR agrees to:
- Recognize Members’ peer review contributions;
- Use data from the RQA process to inform membership status, progression, and renewal;
- Use RQA data to inform continuous improvement of our processes, promote fairness in programs, and maintain excellence in peer review; and
- Provide information regarding Members’ completed peer review and advisory activities, upon request.
4.3 Sharing of Information
CIHR agrees to:
- Provide activity reports to Members and their research institutions or other organizations (when applicable); and
- Collaborate with research institutions and other organizations to strengthen support of peer review activities (when applicable).
4.4 Membership Management
CIHR agrees to:
- Safeguard Member information in accordance with the Privacy Act and the Access to Information Act;
- Reach out to Members periodically to discuss their activities and role within the College; and
- Ensure Members are updated regarding changes and developments that may impact their role or responsibilities as a College Member.
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