ORP Code of Counduct

The Opticon RadioNet Pilot (ORP) is a large collaboration that brings together people of different abilities, backgrounds, and perspectives who share an interest in promoting and advancing the astronomical sciences.
 
The ORP Consortium strives for an inclusive and respectful environment for all its members independent of their background, age, and stage or path of career and recognises that it is through its diversity that the network can grow and be successful in its mission. Therefore, we are committed to respecting and embracing equity, diversity, and inclusion in people, ideas, and opinions and providing a welcoming environment for all members of our international community.
 
The ORP Code of Conduct is presented as a set of general guidelines for appropriate professional behavior, applicable to all ORP-sponsored activities (e.g., in-person meetings, telecons, training schools, governance, projects, publications, email exchanges, etc.). Its focus is mainly on social conduct because scientific conduct is already covered by the European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity. This Code should not be intended as a new set of rules, rather a reaffirmation of our enduring values and practices, to ensure a safe environment and the best possible experience for all ORP members. Further best practices on specific ORP-related activities can be found in the Appendix.
 
ORP Code of Conduct

Respectful behavior
All members of the ORP Consortium are expected to treat each other equally and with respect, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, race, ethnicity, national origin, physical disability, religion, age or any other attribute.
 
We do not tolerate any form of bullying, discrimination, verbal, non-verbal or physical harassment[1], racism, retaliation, threatening behavior, or any other inappropriate conduct. Members must be aware that behaviors and language acceptable to one person may not be to another and therefore are expected to make every effort to ensure that words and actions communicate respect for one another.
 
Open and inclusive environment
All ORP members are expected to actively encourage collaborative, open, and respectful interactions within  the collaboration and must discourage disrespectful or hostile actions/communication styles. This applies also to all interactions with members of the larger scientific community, especially when representing the ORP Consortium at professional conferences and workshops.

Collaborators are expected to be collegial and to encourage the exchange of scientific and technical ideas. Everyone’s contribution is welcomed and must be properly acknowledged. When a disagreement arises, all participants must be committed to effectively resolving the disagreement.  Constructive feedback is welcomed, but it must be voiced always in a respectful manner.  

Implementation of the ORP Code of Conduct
All members are expected to abide by this Code of Conduct.
 
The ORP leadership (WP leaders, Executive Management Team, ORP Coordinator, Chairs/vice-Chairs of the Executive Committee and Board) shall remind members of this Code of Conduct during ORP activities.
 
In no circumstance does the ORP Code of Conduct replace laws or institutional policies to which Collaboration members are subject. However, participants asked to stop any inappropriate behavior during meetings, training schools or any other ORP-related activity are expected to comply immediately. To keep all ORP-related events a welcoming environment for all participants, event organisers retain the right to warn any participant who engages in harassing behaviour and eventually ask them to leave the event.

Moreover, any ORP member with a concern about a violation of the Code of Conduct that affects or may affect ORP-related work should make their concern or complaint known to the appropriate coordinator (WP leaders, Executive Management Team, ORP Coordinator, Executive Committee and Board Chairs/Vice-Chairs). Concerns will be treated confidentially. Similarly, formal sanction or censure by one’s institution or professional society is a serious matter and will be considered as such by the ORP Consortium.

At all times, the goal should be to restore an inclusive, collegial, and respectful environment for Collaboration members.

Attributions
This code of conduct is based on a variety of publicly available ethics statements and code of conducts, issued by the International Astronomical Union, the European Astronomical Society, the Fermi LAT Collaboration, the Future of Meetings and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Collaboration. These can be consulted for further information and clarification. Some of these codes were adapted from the London Code of Conduct (by A. Pontzen and H. Peiris), which was derived from original Creative Commons documents by PyCon and Geek Feminism and it is released under a CC-Zero licence for reuse.

Appendix

Some aspects of the ORP Code of Conduct may become more relevant for specific events and can thus be further detailed. This section is intended to be a dynamic document that can be in updated as the collaboration interactions and activities evolve during the course of the project, thus requiring more or less details on specific aspects or events. Moreover, most of the following statements follow common-sense approaches – in case of doubt, please reach out to any member of the ORP leadership or the lead of JA1.4.

  • Meetings: When ORP Consortium members gather together in person or on-line for group or project meetings, verbal discussions and communication must be conducted in a professional and thoughtful manner. Best practices include but are not limited to:
    • Organisers are encouraged to assemble inclusive and diverse meeting agendas, aimed at valuing diversity of views and ensuring that all participants are given equal opportunities to voice their opinion.
    • Speakers are expected to use respectful language at all times, in the slides, during their talks, when answering questions. They are also recommended to indicate clearly their preference about further uses of their presentation material when it comes to taking screenshots and sharing content on social media by other participants.
    • Everyone’s contribution must be properly acknowledged, irrespective of their background and career level.
    • If attending online meetings, be respectful of others not only when speaking but also when posting comments.
    • Ask for explicit consent from the speaker and organiser prior to copying, distributing or publishing presentations material, recordings or video clips on any kind of media or platform, if not already stated by the speaker.

 

  • Training schools: these are educational events intended for early career professionals (students, post-doc, junior faculty), where all participants are expected to behave in a professional and respectful manner. Best practices include but are not limited to:
    • No disparagement of one’s ideas and contributions is tolerated.
    • Special attention must be given to highlighting the work of the participants.
    • Provide constructive feedback on the ideas and never criticize the individuals.
    • Offer a forum for discussion about issues faced by early career professionals, particularly concerning their career development.

 

  • Publications: the ORP Data Management Plan already includes guidelines on publications resulting from ORP-related activities. Further best practices include but are not limited to:
    • Be mindful about individual contributions while assembling the authors’ list, so that all contributors are properly acknowledged.
    • Make sure to include the Acknowledgements and logos as per ORP Graphic and Acknowledgement Charter and the European Commission requirements.

Notes

[1] Definition of harassment adopted from: https://www.iau.org/news/announcements/detail/ann16007/