Values
Science Impacts Everyone, So It Should Include Everyone
Scientific discoveries about the brain and how it works can impact our daily life. Research on the brain and brain development can lead to changes in educational programs and policies that affect everyone. Scientists need to include all people in research to make sure that scientific discoveries can help everyone. If groups of people are left out of research, they may miss out on the benefits.
Making Science More Inclusive
People come from different lifestyles, cultures, and experiences. Our brains are just as unique. Scientists need to work to make sure their research includes people from diverse backgrounds. Being inclusive in science means reaching out and connecting with groups that have been historically overlooked in research. It also means making sure that members of the research team come from different backgrounds.
Diversity Matters for HBCD
Here at HBCD, we know that diversity is very important for brain science. Our goal is to make sure our HBCD families, study teams, and community and research partners represent all people. We want the discoveries we make together to benefit all children for generations to come. HBCD staff, researchers, and administrators are guided by a set of core values. These core values are to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion at all levels of HBCD. Read more below.
Core Values
Participation is open to people of every race, ethnicity, religion, gender, and sexual orientation, regardless of national origin, education or income level, or health insurance status. Our goal is to reflect the rich diversity of families in the United States, and to be as accessible as possible across ability statuses. Therefore, a diverse group of participants is critical to achieving the study goals and promoting better developmental outcomes for all children.
We will monitor diversity, equity, and inclusion across protocols, leadership roles, investigative teams, and community advisory boards. The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee will monitor the composition of the study protocol and support Study Sites’ and Working Groups’ diversity to ensure each person is treated with dignity and respect and that diverse viewpoints are given equitable consideration.
We will work with and for our participants and their communities. We view participants and their communities as valued partners within this effort to improve the next generation’s health; the unique perspectives of communities engaged in our study are critical to the success of the research program. As the project develops, we will solicit feedback on our research protocols from community advisory boards at each study site and ask for feedback from our study participants. In addition, we will share research findings with our participants and community partners in a manner that can inform solutions.
We will promote dignity and respect for all persons regardless of income level, physical and mental health, ability status, and identity, including racial and ethnic groups, gender, sexual orientation and family structure. We will carefully develop our scientific questions and communications to avoid contributing to misperceptions, negative stereotypes, and the perpetuation of inequities related to child development and public policy.
We will engage in activities to create a diverse community of scientists and staff and provide training and leadership opportunities for a diverse group of students, fellows, and junior faculty. We aim to improve on historical and present-day barriers in science to promote opportunities for diverse scientists at all levels of training and professional development.
Responsible use of study data. Research can produce significant harm, for both participants and people more generally, by promoting stigma. Stigmatizing research is any research project, question, analysis, or interpretation that has the potential to instigate or promote marginalizing, discrimination, or loss of status to a person or group of people. Compliance with the responsible data use policy includes an agreement to NOT use the data for research that is discriminatory or stigmatizing of individuals, groups, families, or communities.
