Ethics and Data protection is Key in Horizon 2020 projects
The MOOD project works with two independent ethics and data protection (Eth & DP) advisors to set and monitor the ethical and data protection framework to ensure compliance to European ethics in Big data research and development.
MOOD Ethics and Data protection advisors
Anne Demoisy, Director of Rhizome, has more than ten years of experience in assessing and supporting Horizon 2020 (or FP7) projects. Consulting for the European Commission D.G. Research and Innovation, the Research Executive Agency (REA), the Innovative Medicine Initiatives (IMI) and the European Research Council (ERC) she has been conducting Scientific and Ethics evaluations of Horizon 2020 and HORIZON EUROPE proposals in multiple calls.
Mrs Demoisy also acted as Independent Observer for the European Commission evaluations in Science and Society. She contributed to designing several processes for the D.G. Research and Innovation Ethics Unit: the screening of proposals, their audit process or the set-up of evaluation ICT tools. She is also taking active participation in several HORIZON 2020-funded projects as an external Ethics Advisor focusing on privacy and ethics issues.
Gemma Galdon Clavell, is a leading voice on technology ethics and algorithmic accountability. She is the founder and CEO of Eticas Consulting, where she is responsible for leading the management, strategic direction and execution of the Eticas vision. Her multidisciplinary background in the social, ethical, and legal impact of data-intensive technology allows her and her team to design and implement practical solutions to data protection, ethics, explainability, and bias challenges in AI. She has conceived and architected the Algorithmic Audit Framework which now serves as the foundation for Eticas flagship product, the Algorithmic Audit.Her academic work has been published in Science and Public Policy, Information Policy, Ethics and Information Technology, Citizen Science Theory and Practice or Urban Studies, and in leading academic publishers such as Routledge, Springer, and Sage.
Under Galdon-Clavell’s leadership, Eticas has forged the development of a new market in digital ethics and trustworthy AI, reaching all verticals including social services, healthcare, finance, government, education, cybersecurity, and more. Through the Eticas Foundation, she is also a leading voice in policy circles, having advised international organizations such as the OECD, EU FRA, the UN, or the European Parliament on issues related to applied ethics and responsible AI, and is a tech ethics adviser at international, regional and national public and private organizations.
Her contributions combine academic rigor, policy experience, and a commitment to protect people in technology processes by pioneering solutions and services that translate rights and values into technical specifications. She has appeared in Forbes, Computer Weekly, Wired, El País, La Vanguardia, or Cinco Días, and is a sought-after keynote speaker and media contributor with the mission to shift the way we think about technology.
What is the MOOD Ethics Board and why do we have one?
Ethical research conducted in the MOOD project implies the application of fundamental European Ethics & Data Principles (DP) principles and legislation. The objective of the MOOD Ethics & DP activities is to ensure compliance with the European Commission (EC) ethics requirements such as:
- Procedures and criteria used to identify/recruit research participants. Informed consent procedures implemented for the participation of human beings
- Data intended to process are relevant and limited to the purposes of the research project
- Activities undertaken in non-European Union (EU) countries to ensure that the research conducted outside the EU is legal in at least one EU Member State
- Risk assessment and details of the measures/ safeguards implemented to prevent misuse of research findings
- Monitoring of ethics and privacy issues raised by the project to ensure the respect of the H2020 ethics principles and the delivery of the ethics deliverables
- Effective legal and technical mechanisms to safeguard Privacy-by-design and Value-Sensitive Design in web mining, measuring privacy violations, discrimination and exclusion risks related to each analytical activity in the project infrastructure
- Analysis of the legal requirements concerning intellectual property law and data ownership frameworks, especially linked with the activities implemented for text mining, data storage and outputs outreach of the project
All the Ethics & DP activities of the project are set and monitored through a dedicated Work package (WP) on Ethics and including a dedicated Ethics Board.
Ethics Board: what is it and why do we have one?
In order to account for Ethics & Data Protection issues and knowledge management, the MOOD project has appointed two external advisors on Ethics & DP, working closely with the project coordinator and the MOOD Ethics and Data Protection Board (Ethics & DP Board).
What are its functions?
The MOOD Ethics & DP Board aims to promote the implementation of an ethical culture within the Consortium. The Board provides oversight and support on any potential ethical question raised throughout the project. Ethics questions are discussed quarterly during the Executive Board meetings. For rapid response to specific ethics questions related to each WP and partner activity, at project start, each partner institution designated an ethics, legal or Data Protection Officer (DPO) officer. These appointed officers also assist this Board to obtain all relevant documentation and authorizations to achieve the ethical and data management deliverables of the project.
Who are the members?
Members of the Ethics & DP Board are all seven deputy Work Pacage (WP) leaders of the consortium, the project coordinator and the two external advisors.
What appointments does it have?
The Ethics & DP Board meets quarterly.
The MOOD Ethics and Data Protection Management Plan: what is it and why do we need one?
The Ethics and Data Protection Management Plan (EDPM) serves as a roadmap for the monitoring of the ethical issues within the project. This plan covers the ethics and legal framework. It lists all the ethics requirements identified during the European Commission Ethics Review and ensures they are all properly and timely handled. It sets the framework for monitoring the ethics throughout the MOOD project execution and covers the issues raised by the European Commission Ethics Review, specifically:
- Creation of an Ethics and Data Protection Advisory Board;
- Identification of Data Protection Officers (DPOs);
- MOOD security measures and procedures to ensure “personal” data protection;
- The Informed Consent Forms and participants recruitment procedures;
- Involvement of partners from non EU Countries;
- Misuse of research findings and risk of stigmatisation.
Who is it for?
The EDPAB assists the Executive Board in providing advice on diverse research, methodological and ethical questions of importance to the MOOD project.
How to obtain it?
This document is confidential and available only to MOOD partners.