POLICIES
ISV Anti-Harassment Policy
Commitment Statement:
The International Society for Vaccines (ISV) is committed to global outreach and global equity to promote and provide a welcoming and safe environment for all membership and meeting participants, regardless of their sex, race, ethnicity, color, national origin, age, religion, sexual orientation, gender identify, disability, or other status. The organization has a zero tolerance for harassment of any kind towards congress delegates or congress support staff. The ISV expects all congress delegates to engage in considerate and professional discourse.
Reporting & Notification Steps If an ISV congress delegate or society member believes that they have been discriminated against or harassed because of race, color, national origin, disability, age, sex, gender, sexual orientation, culture, or religion they are encouraged to notify the ISV Society President, or the Society President-Elect or the ISV Congress Co-Chairs. Anonymous concerns may be expressed to the ISV general email, and the email contact of ISV Officers may be provided for direct communications to the complainant or person filing a complaint on behalf of another person. An ombudsman may be appointed to help the person submitting the harassment complaint.
Any violation of the ISV Code of Conduct will result in the ISV launching investigation, taking appropriate action against the individual(s) concerned. This may result in individual(s) not being admitted to an event, being removed from an event and/or being removed from the membership (if they are a member). The ISV reserves the right to take action as deemed necessary and appropriate.
ISV Diversity Plan
The International Society for Vaccines is an organization that engages, supports, and sustains the professional goals of a diverse membership in all areas relevant to vaccines. As such, ISV is fully committed to the continuous growth of its heterogeneous and global membership. Each year’s annual congress program is designed by the Congress Co-Chairs, with input from the Scientific Committee and ISV Officers and Board members; invited speakers are selected to bring a variety of scientific expertise to the program, avoid repetition of speakers from year to year, and to reflect the diversity in the audience. These plans for diversity focus on the inclusion of underrepresented (UR) groups defined by gender, sexual orientation, race/ethnicity, culture, geography, country of origin, stage of career, affiliation, culture and background and also breadth of viewpoints important for the fruitful exchange of information, sharing of research for the acceleration of vaccine development. In addition, ISV’s leadership and congress co-chairs are selected based on their expressed commitment to mentoring and developing the careers of scientists.
Diversity in Life Sciences at ISV
Diversity is a central pillar of the ISV mission as articulated in the sections below. ISV leadership has proactively ensured that diversity in its different guises is represented at ISV membership and committee level, Board and Officer group and at the ISV annual international conferences and regional partnership conferences. It is widely understood that coordination by government, academia and industry for recruiting and maintaining women and underrepresented (UR) groups has significant benefits.1 ISV has a focus to boost diversity and inclusion in vaccinology and its underpinning sciences to bring people with diverse backgrounds, experiences and viewpoints together for the sharing of ideas and acceleration of vaccine research.
Financial Conflict of Interest (FCOI) Policy for the International Society for Vaccines (ISV, the Society)
The Department of Health and Human Services has set regulations designed to require disclosure and management of any financial conflicts of interest (FCOI) of organizations or individuals who receive funding from the National Institutes of Health. To comply, the ISV’s Financial Conflict of Interest (FCOI) serves the purpose to protect the organization’s interest when entering into financial agreements or transactions that may benefit a private interest of an ISV Officer, ISV Board Member, ISV Fellow, ISV Member, or the ISV Staff. The FCOI aims to avoid excessive benefit or perception of beneficial transactions. FCOI means a significant financial interest that could directly or significantly affect the conduct or reporting of the NIH-funded project. It does not substitute applicable federal or state conflict of interest governance that is applicable to nonprofit organizations. The ISV’s FCOI serves to establish definitions, procedures, and recordings of procedures that will offer protection against charges of impropriety involving ISV Officers, ISV Board Members, or ISV Staff.
Interested Persons, as mentioned below, include any principal member of the Society, Officer, or Director, who may have either a direct or indirect financial interest. Financial Interest, as mentioned below, is defined as any person who has a direct or indirect financial interest through business, family (spouse, partner, dependent children), or investment to the following:
– Investment interest in an entity, financial institution, business, professional firm, or individual providing goods or services with which the ISV has a transaction or financial agreement.
Compensation arrangement with the Society or an entity or individual with which the society has a transaction or agreement.
– Compensation may include direct and indirect payment or substantial gifts or favors.
The potential for investment interest or compensation arrangement with any entity or individual with which the Society is negotiating a transaction or agreement.
– A financial interest in Society does not necessarily mean a conflict of interest; it is the ISV Officers who may determine that a conflict of interest exists in accordance with this policy.
Should a financial conflict of interest be perceived to exist, the following procedures may occur:
– There will be a duty to disclose a connection with any actual or possible conflict of interest, and an interested person must disclose the existence of the financial conflict of interest with the opportunity to disclose all material facts to the ISV Officers.
– Any ISV Officer may recuse themselves, at any time, from involvement in any decision or discussion in which the Officer believes they may have a conflict of interest, without going through the process for determining whether a conflict of interest exists.
– Determination of whether a conflict of interest exists would follow the disclosure of the financial interest and all material facts. After any discussion with the interested person, they shall leave the Officers or Board meeting which such determination of a conflict of interest is reviewed and voted upon. The remaining Officers or Board Members shall determine if a conflict of interest exists.
To address a conflict of interest, the following procedures may occur:
– An interested person may make a presentation at the ISV Officers or ISV Board or Committee Meeting then leave the meeting for discussion and vote by other Members on whether the transaction or agreement involved a potential conflict of interest.
– The ISV President or ISV Vice-Chair of the Board shall, if appropriate, appoint a disinterested person to investigate options to the proposed transaction or agreement.
After investigation, the ISV Officers or Board shall determine whether the ISV can obtain a solution with reasonable efforts that avoids or does not give rise to a conflict of interest.
– If a more advantageous transaction or agreement is not reasonably possible under the circumstances to avoid a conflict of interest, then the ISV Officers or Board shall determine, by a majority vote of disinterested Members, whether the transaction or agreement is in the best interest of the Society, for its own benefit, and whether it is fair and reasonable. In conformity with the above determination, it shall make its decision as to whether to enter into the transaction or agreement.
– If there is violation of the ISV Financial Conflict of Interest Policy, the following actions may occur:
– If an ISV Officer or Board Member has reason to believe that another Member has failed to disclose an actual or possible financial conflict of interest, then the interested Member shall be informed of the basis for the violation of the FCOI. The Member will be offered the opportunity to explain the alleged failure to disclose the interest.
Compensation
– A staff member, ISV Officer or ISV Board Member who receives compensation, directly or indirectly, from the ISV for services is precluded from voting on matters pertaining to that member’s compensation.
– A voting member of any ISV Committee, whose jurisdiction includes compensation matters and who receives compensation, directly or indirectly, from the ISV for services is precluded from voting on matters pertaining to that member’s compensation.
– No voting member of the ISV Officers or Board or any ISV Committee, whose jurisdiction includes compensation matters and who receives compensation, directly or indirectly, from the ISV, either individually or collectively, is prohibited from providing information to any Committee regarding compensation.
Statement of Affirmation
– Each ISV Officer and staff member with Board–delegated powers shall sign a statement that affirms such person has received a copy of the conflict-of-interest policy, has read and understands the policy, has agreed to comply with the policy, understands the ISV is charitable and in order to maintain its federal tax exemption it must engage primarily in activities that accomplish one or more of its tax-exempt purposes.
Periodic Reviews
– To ensure the ISV operates in a manner consistent with charitable purposes and does not engage in activities that could jeopardize its tax-exempt status, periodic reviews shall be conducted. The periodic reviews shall, at a minimum, include the following subjects:
– Whether compensation arrangements and benefits are reasonable
– Whether partnerships, joint ventures, and arrangements with management organizations, if any, conform to the ISV’s written policies, are properly recorded, reflect reasonable investment or payments for goods and services, further charitable purposes, and do not result in inurement, impermissible private benefit, or in an excess benefit transaction.
– After hearing the Member’s response to the information, further investigation may be warranted and the ISV Officers or Board may determine that the Member has failed to disclose an actual or possible conflict of interest, then it shall take appropriate disciplinary and correction action.
– The Minutes of the ISV Officers meeting or ISV Board meeting will contain the names of the persons who disclosed or were found to have a financial interest in connection with an actual or possible conflict of interest, with the nature of the financial interest. Any action taken to determine whether a conflict of interest was present will be recorded in the minutes with the ISV Officers or ISV Board’s determination as to whether a conflict of interest, in fact, existed. The names of those present in the discussion, investigation, and votes taken in connection with the proceedings will be recorded in the minutes.
