Code Of Conduct

The AgBioData Consortium - Participant’s Code of Conduct

Scope

This policy applies to all AgBioData Consortium-sponsored meetings, events, workshops, and online presence (webinars, Slack, website activity); collectively referred to as “meetings”. Policies herein apply to all attendees, speakers, exhibitors, staff, contractors, volunteers, guests, and Steering Committee members; collectively referred to as “participants”.

AgBioData Consortium Commitment

The AgBioData Consortium is committed to providing a safe and productive environment that fosters open dialogue, the exchange of scientific ideas, promotes equal opportunities and treatment for all participants, and is free of harassment and discrimination. All participants are expected to treat others with respect and consideration, follow venue rules, and alert staff or security of any dangerous situations or anyone in distress. The Consortium recognizes that there are controversial areas of science and will host meetings that can serve as an effective forum to consider and debate science-relevant viewpoints in an orderly, respectful, and fair manner.

Invited speakers are expected to uphold standards of scientific integrity and professional ethics by notifying AgBioData Consortium Steering Committee in advance of the meeting about any possible conflicts of interest.

What is Harassment?

Harassment includes, but is not limited to:

• Offensive or unwanted comments on any protected characteristic e.g. ethnicity, gender, religion, age, body size, disability, veteran status, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, any reason not related to scientific merit or any other personal attribute

• Unjustified use of sexual images

• Sustained interruption of speakers or of those asking questions

• Unwanted photography or filming. Please respect the wishes of speakers who do not want their slides photographed or shared on social media

• Violence, threats of violence, or violent language aimed at another individual

• Bullying 

• Posting (or threatening to post) personally identifying information (“doxing”)

• Stalking

• Inappropriate physical contact or invasion of personal space

• Unwelcome sexual attention, including inappropriate verbal and physical attention

• Encouraging any of the above behavior

Behavior that is acceptable to one person may not be acceptable to another, use discretion to ensure that respect is clearly communicated, mutually agreed upon, and understood by all parties. Harassment intended in a joking manner still constitutes unacceptable behavior. Retaliation for reporting harassment is a violation of this policy, as is reporting an incident in bad faith.

Reporting Harassment

If an individual experiences or witnesses harassment, they should contact any member of the AgBioData Consortium Steering Committee, or use a venue phone and ask for security if they feel unsafe. All complaints will be treated seriously and responded to promptly. Reports will be handled with discretion and confidentiality will be maintained to the extent that it does not compromise the rights of others. The AgBioData Consortium Steering Committee members will respect confidentiality requests for the purpose of protecting victims of abuse. 

In the report, please include:

• Your contact information and preferred methods of communication.

• Names (real, nicknames, or pseudonyms) of all individuals involved.

• Your account of what occurred, and if you believe the incident is ongoing. If there is a publicly available record (e.g. a mailing list archive, a public IRC logger, or URLs), please include links.

• Any additional information that may be helpful to fully investigate the reported incident.

When a report is filed, the AgBioData Consortium Steering Committee member you reach out to will contact you personally, review the incident, and may ask clarifying questions.  They will then confide in the collective Steering Committee who will make a decision as to how to respond and the next course of action(s). If the person who is harassing you is one of the persons in the designated contact list, please contact Susan A. McCarthy at smccarthy.agbiodata@gmail.com, instead.

Courses of Action

The AgBioData Consortium Steering Committee reserves the right to remove an individual from the meeting without warning or refund, and prohibit attendance at future meetings and notify the individual’s employer.

Direct questions about this policy can be sent to agbiodata@gmail.com or to any member of the AgBioData Consortium Steering Committee (contact information can be found https://www.agbiodata.org/steering-committee-members).

_{Adapted from https://meetings.aaas.org/policies/}