The study process used by the Fulbright Academy is one in which a committee of scientific experts, with a diverse range of expertise and perspectives, is convened to address a particular set of questions. Committee members serve without compensation and as individuals, not as representatives of organizations or interest groups.
The reputation of the Academy for objectivity, integrity, independence, and competence is one of our most valuable assets. For this reason, the procedures designed to ensure excellence apply to each study undertaken and to each step of the study process.
MEMBER SELECTION: In selecting members for a study committee, the Academy examines three aspects of the backgrounds of candidates: relevant expertise, possible conflicts of interest, and potential sources of bias. All three aspects are assessed in terms of what the committee has been asked to do. The Academies define conflict of interest as any current financial or other interest that conflicts with the service of an individual because it impairs his or her objectivity. Potential sources of bias relate to the points of view or positions that are largely intellectually motivated or that arise from the close identification or association of an individual with a point of view of a particular group.
The Academy evaluates the overall composition of the committee to balance the various points of view. The goal is to ensure that relevant points of view on a highly expert committee are reasonably balanced, so that the committee can carry out its charge objectively. When a question of balance arises, the usual procedure is to add members to the committee to achieve the appropriate composition. The committee membership is finalized only after the Academy is satisfied that potential conflict-of-interest issues have been dealt with, that the committee contains all the requisite expertise for its task, and that the scientific views of committee members are reasonably balanced.
A successful study is the result of an interactive process, requiring that committee members be open to new ideas and innovative solutions and be willing to learn from one another. Although the views of interested parties are given serious and respectful consideration, the committee's role is to separate fact from opinion, analysis from advocacy. Scientific standards are essential in evaluating all arguments and alternatives.
COMMITTEE REPORTS: If the committee will be producing a final written report, the Academy appoints additional independent experts with a range of views and perspectives to review and comment anonymously on the draft report prepared by the committee. This provides a final check on the quality and objectivity of the study.
The review process is structured to ensure that the report addresses the committee's charge and does not go beyond it; the findings are supported by the evidence and arguments presented; the organization and exposition of the report are effective and logical; and that the report is impartial and objective. After revisions are made by the committee to satisfy the institution's rigorous review process, the report is transmitted to the agency that sponsored the study and released to the public. Names of the principal reviewers are made public when the report is released.
Note: Most of this guidance was drawn from the procedures used by the US National Academies of Science, Medicine and Engineering.
An Example of an Academy Project:
In October 2005, the Fulbright Academy announced that it will create a committee to address science literacy. One of the first tasks relates to a three-year US National Science Foundation (NSF) grant to the University of Wisconsin, Madison and Indiana University, Bloomington, with the Fulbright Academy as a subcontractor on the Indiana University portion of the grant.
The $500,000 NSF-sponsored project examines the critical role that soil microbes play in the cycling of elements and maintaining an environment that is friendly to life. Our study committee will help address some of the broader issues, working with the two principal investigators and other committee members to create educational modules/ programs to increase scientific literacy and help the public better understand the positive role that bacteria play in the environment. Activities included a video (posted on Youtube), classroom visits and lectures given at agricultural fairs.
The principal investigators in the research on microbes and the cycling of iron and nitrogen in soils were Dr. Flynn Picardal, an associate professor in the School of Public &Environmental Affairs at Indiana University, and Dr. Eric Roden of the University of Wisconsin's Department of Geological Sciences. In 2001, Dr. Picardal received a Fulbright grant to the Max-Plank-Institute for Marine Microbiology in Bremen to conduct research on interactions of geochemical and biological processes in the immobilization of toxic metals in sediments. In 2002, he and his department hosted the Chair of the Biology Department from the leading university in Kazakhstan.
This first project is serving as a model for other science literacy projects conducted as a partnership between the Fulbright Academy and researchers in the US and abroad.
|
