Call for Nominations for Members:
PRE’s Technical Advisory Committee
on Aboriginal Research (PRE -TACAR)

October 2005

Call for Nominations:
print package

Deadline: 15 December 2005 (extended until 6 January 2006)

As the frontiers of knowledge are advanced through research, new challenges arise requiring re-thinking of ethical standards that guide research involving human participants, communities, and peoples.

In 1998, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada (NSERC) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) released the Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct of Research Involving Humans (TCPS)¹, as a common, national norm for research in Canadian universities and their affiliated institutions. Due to important process limitations, the section of the TCPS dedicated to research involving Aboriginal Peoples outlines a set of “good practices” instead of ethical guidelines.

In late 2001, the Interagency Advisory Panel on Research Ethics (PRE)² was created by the Agencies with a mandate to provide them with multidisciplinary, independent advice on evolution of the TCPS. PRE intends to base such advice on democratic process principles that engage citizens and the affected communities. PRE has set a priority on developing ethical guidelines on Aboriginal research that respect Aboriginal knowledge, research modalities, and rights and needs. Accordingly, PRE has initiated collaboration with representative Aboriginal organizations to guide the process of guideline development.

PRE has established the Guiding Consortium for the Development of Ethical Guidelines for Research Involving Aboriginal Peoples. Membership on the Consortium includes PRE, the three federal agencies—CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC—, and five national Aboriginal organizations—the Assembly of First Nations (AFN), the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK), the Métis National Council (MNC), the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples (CAP), and the Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC)—as well as representatives from the federal government. Guidelines to replace the present Section 6 of the TCPS are intended to guide research that involves Aboriginal Peoples and is subject to the TCPS.³

The Consortium will be assisted by a PRE Technical Advisory Committee on Aboriginal Research (PRE -TACAR). The Draft Terms of Reference of TACAR have been adopted by the Consortium in principle. As they indicate, PRE ’s TACAR will provide advice to PRE and the Consortium, comment on commissioned research and contribute expertise in the development of Aboriginal specific research guidelines, based on members’ own experience, expertise, knowledge, and analyses.

PRE now has the pleasure to invite interested individuals to submit their name for service on this advisory committee. The call for candidates for membership is open to Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal scholars and researchers in academic and community environments. Candidates should have expertise, knowledge, experience or background relating to research in one or more of the following areas: (i) health, social sciences and humanities, natural sciences and engineering, and research ethics, and/or (ii) Aboriginal knowledge, culture and communities.

The current PRE process builds on the work of CIHR Ethics Office and Institute of Aboriginal Peoples’ Health in drafting health-specific ethical guidelines on Aboriginal research. The SSHRC process and dialogue leading to the introduction of a Strategic Program on Aboriginal Research and relevant developments in northern research supported by NSERC, complement and advance the PRE initiative. Analysis of recent ethics initiatives in Aboriginal communities, academic institutions, federal governmental agencies and international venues will also be instructive.

Nomination Process

PRE invites interested individuals to send before 15 December 2005 (extended until 6 January 2006):

• their application with a brief interest of statement (no more than 500 words);
• their short curriculum vitae.

We invite applicants to use the form provided.

We ask all who receive this call for nominations to help us to distribute it as widely as possible. Please share the call for nominations with institutions and individuals who might be interested in posting (see http://pre.ethics.gc.ca/english/publicparticipation/callfornominations.cfm) and/or responding to it.

Mailing Address

Interagency Advisory Panel on Research Ethics
Aboriginal Research Ethics Initiative
350 Albert Street
Ottawa Canada K1A 1H5
Email: AREI@pre.ethics.gc.ca
Fax: (613) 996-7117
Tel: (613) 996-0072

For additional information, please contact:

Thérèse De Groote, Senior Policy Analyst
Interagency Secretariat on Research Ethics (SRE)
Tel: (613) 996-1062 or tdg@pre.ethics.gc.ca

Important Notice

All information and documents received will be kept confidential under the federal Privacy and Access to Information Act. Unless applicants request otherwise, SRE will retain the submitted information and documents for three years, for consideration for future PRE initiatives.

¹ http://pre.ethics.gc.ca/english/policystatement/policystatement.cfm [Back]

² www.pre.ethics.gc.ca.
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³ http://pre.ethics.gc.ca/english/policystatement/section6.cfm
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