Background

The ARC Centre of Excellence for 21st Century Weather (“21st Century Weather”) is committed to uncompromisingly high standards of professional conduct and rigour in all activities, including all aspects of our research.

We are guided and bound first by the Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research, secondly by institutional policies on research ethics, and thirdly by established norms and best practice in our field.

Arguably, few disciplines receive as much public scrutiny as climate and weather science. Accordingly, climate scientists have long embraced openness, accountability and an open-source approach to their work. This ensures originality and reproducibility of research, adherence to proven methodological frameworks, and rigorous data management practices.

Adherence to Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability and Reusability (FAIR) principles is normal, established practice in our field. In any instances where our work involves Indigenous knowledge or data, we apply CARE principles.

Researcher education and awareness

The Centre has drafted a Code of Ethics, included below, based on the COSIMA Code. The 21st Century Weather Code of Ethics is underpinned by the principles of Integrity, Trust, Collaboration, Clarity and Fairness.

This document is shared with Centre personnel as part of their onboarding process. We also publish a set of mutual expectations for investigators, staff and students to acknowledge as part of their induction process. This includes a copy of the Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research, as well as links to relevant institutional policies.

Specific considerations, management plans and governance

The table below sets out key ethical considerations, our exposure and our intended action in response. This table and this plan will be reviewed twice a year and discussed at our advisory board meetings.

Where action other than “monitor” is indicated, we will work within the parameters of the grant agreement and/or the relevant institutional policies to respond to ethical considerations that arise.

Ethical consideration	Response	Action
Will the Centre conduct research involving human subjects?	No	Monitor
Will the Centre conduct research involving animal subjects?	No	Monitor
Will the Centre conduct research involving gene technology?	No	Monitor
Will the Centre collect or hold data directly relating to Indigenous and other First Nations Peoples?	Possibly	Outline and monitor; apply CARE principles
Will the Centre partner with companies or organisations involved in arms manufacturing, tobacco or gambling?	No	Monitor
Is it likely that Centre research will lead to the generation of commercial outcomes for individuals, teams or institutions?	Possibly	Outline and monitor
Will the Centre conduct cross-institutional research?	Yes	Manage
Will any researchers come into contact with minors in the course of their activities?	Possibly	Outline and monitor

Indigenous and other First Nations knowledge and data

Will the Centre collect or hold data directly relating to Indigenous and other First Nations Peoples?

Possibly.

Through our collaboration with Deadly Science, there may be incidental exchange of Indigenous understandings of weather and climate in a classroom context. We are not intending to undertake research on Indigenous weather and climate knowledge, nor to collect or hold data that relates to Indigenous Peoples.

Should this collaboration deepen to include the retention of knowledge or data, we will seek advice and complete appropriate Monash management plans.

Commercial outcomes

Is it likely that Centre research will lead to the generation of commercial outcomes for individuals, teams or institutions?

Possibly.

While it is not our intent, our collaboration with industry partners may reveal projects that could lead to commercial outcomes. As outlined in the Partner Agreement, in this instance we will negotiate individual project agreements with a clear definition of the intellectual property and commercialisation implications on a case-by-case basis.

Cross-institutional research

Will the Centre conduct cross-institutional research?

Yes.

As an ARC Centre of Excellence, our research program is cross-institutional by design. Research will be carried out in defined projects involving personnel from multiple universities, research organisations, and public and private partner organisations.

This activity is managed according to the Centre’s head agreement with the ARC and associated partner agreements. Additionally, we are establishing guidelines and infrastructure to encourage fair and open sharing of research within and across partners, as well as a Centre-wide approach to group authorship and publication.

Working with minors

Will any researchers come into contact with minors in the course of their activities?

Possibly.

All Centre personnel who work with undergraduate students are bound by their institutional child safety and protection policies. Apart from this, the activities of most people in the Centre are unlikely to bring them into contact with people under the age of 18.

One foreseeable exception is personnel involved in school outreach conducted by the Centre. We will work within our institutional guidelines to ensure appropriate checks have been undertaken and protocols are followed.

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21st Century Weather Code of Ethics

The following ethical principles are gratefully adapted from COSIMA.

Our work is underpinned by five principles:

• Integrity
• Trust
• Collaboration
• Clarity
• Fairness

We expect these principles to be honoured by everyone who officially or informally participates in, or benefits from, 21st Century Weather. The fundamentals of each principle are outlined below. People are expected to follow this code in spirit as much as in letter.

Integrity

Integrity is the soul of science. It takes a lifetime to earn and a moment to lose. We will demonstrate sound moral principles, always acting with honour and truthfulness.

We will be honest in presenting goals and intentions, reporting methods and procedures, and conveying interpretations.

Trust

Just as with integrity, trust is tough to earn yet easy to lose. Trust strengthens and enhances any consortium. 21st Century Weather fundamentally relies on the integrity and trustworthiness of its members.

An environment of trust and integrity allows members to:

• Know that they are safe to express new ideas, ideas others may disagree with, and ideas that may make them vulnerable;
• Seek reliable information before entertaining negative assumptions;
• Do what they say and say what they will do; and
• Tolerate conflict enough to resolve it with respect and kindness.

Collaboration

21st Century Weather exists to reap the benefits of collaboration. Collaboration reduces redundancy and improves the quality of our work. Collaboration allows for synergy to produce novel and unexpected science that pushes the envelope of understanding. Internally and externally, we celebrate good collaboration.

“What we produce is a complex whole made of many parts; it is the sum of many dreams. Collaboration between teams that each have their own goal and vision is essential. For the whole to be more than the sum of its parts, each part must make an effort to understand the whole.”

Ubuntu Code of Conduct

Clarity

We are committed to coherent and explicit communication between team members. We understand that having clearly specified roles for team members is key to achieving scientific goals.

In pursuit of our scientific goals, 21st Century Weather team members will:

• Ensure research methods and results are open to scrutiny and debate;
• Aim to work transparently and involve interested parties as early as possible;
• Encourage a research culture that is innovative, open and transparent;
• Declare any potential, perceived or actual conflicts of interest; and
• Actively participate in discussions on the Centre’s online forums and contribute to research meetings and workshops.

Fairness

We are committed to objective, unbiased, inclusive and equitable actions. All members of the 21st Century Weather community have a right to expect, and a duty to give, fair treatment to others irrespective of background, gender, personal attributes or career stage.

Fair treatment includes offering collaborative research roles to:

• People who contributed to the conception or design of the work;
• People who undertake model development essential to the research; and
• People who acquired, analysed or interpreted data for the research.

Appropriate acknowledgement of the role of others in research is always expected.

References

1. European Science Foundation: Research integrity
2. Sarkar, M., Aulakh, P. and Cavusgil, S.T. (1998), “The strategic role of relational bonding in interorganizational collaborations: An empirical study of the global construction industry”, Journal of International Management, 4(2), pp. 85–107.
3. Sherbrooke Consulting: Trust
4. Sonnenwald, D. (2007), “Scientific Collaboration”, Annual Review of Information Science and Technology, 41(1), pp. 643–681.
5. Ubuntu Code of Conduct
6. Harvard Business Review: Eight ways to build collaborative teams
7. ICMJE: Defining the role of authors and contributors