Code of Conduct

The goal of this document is to give you actionable advice and guide interventions for Code of Conduct breaches.

How we work

We enable data analysts and scientists to expand their knowledge and apply it to topics of societal relevance. Therefore, we provide educational opportunities for our community as well as for NPOs by conducting a range of Data4Good projects. Our projects are aimed at supporting institutions in enhancing their social impact by enabling them to make active use of their own and publicly available data. At the same time, we are building a community of civic-minded data professionals and enthusiasts to exchange knowledge and connect.

The work that this community does in cooperation with our partners is at the heart of CorrelAid. We always pursue this work in alignment with our values. We also pursue these values in our public representation, and in our collaboration and communication with partners and other community members.

These are the principles we agree on for our community:

Respect others and oppose problematic behavior

To make sure that our community can be a safer environment, we all need to adhere to our values and oppose problematic or discriminating behavior whenever it occurs. Each and everyone is asked to take part in creating this safer space.

Strive towards a more inclusive environment

Keep yourself informed about diversity and inclusion issues that affect CorrelAid. You have the responsibility to contribute your share. If you observe behavior that affects this inclusive environment, speak up.

Dealing with errors constructively

Own up to your mistakes and be respectful towards others when they own up to theirs. Become active to solve problems with the help of the volunteering. The community is there to help, it’s your responsibility to ask for help.

Communicate transparently

If possible, communicate transparently, e.g., by using a public channel instead of private messages. This makes it easier for others to learn and participate in conversations they find interesting. Be eager to explain your methods and what you are doing in clear and simple terms and aim to demystify data science.

Favor practical and sustainable solutions over more complex systems

To make sure that your solutions are understandable, maintainable, sustainable and useful, try to keep them as simple as possible. Strive for the simplest solution, not for the most impressive one.

Self-Determination

The Code of Ethics and the Code of Conduct are your guidelines. In the end, it is you who takes the decisions for yourself within CorrelAid. Take them responsibly.

Sometimes you might not be sure how to handle a situation or question. This is normal and nothing to be ashamed of. This is actually what the community and core team are there for: You can ask for help!

Handle personal data with care

Keep yourself informed about current data privacy policies. If you are not sure how to handle projects or issues that might involve dealing with personal or otherwise sensitive data, the community and ethics committee are here to help. It’s your responsibility to seek out that help.

Consider Open Source and different technologies

Consider open source, partner wants and needs, and your own preferences when choosing technology.To further enrich the community’s knowledge, always consider sharing what you learned, no matter which technology you end up using.

Unacceptable behavior

Approach people with respect within the community, during your work for CorrelAid and beyond. Behavior that is not acceptable and will be considered as harassment includes but is not limited to:

Violence, threats of violence or violent language directed against another person.
Posting or displaying sexually explicit or violent material
Personal insults as well as discriminatory language
Bullying & exclusionary behavior
Inappropriate photography or recording
Inappropriate physical contact. You should have someone’s consent before touching them
Unwelcome sexual attention. This includes, sexualized comments or jokes; inappropriate touching, groping, and unwelcome sexual advances
Deliberate intimidation, stalking or following (online or in person)
Encouraging, any of the above behavior

Furthermore, the following incomplete list names disrespectful behavior, which is deemed not acceptable. We acknowledge that there are learning processes, which might warrant more extensive consideration than “clear” cases of harassment:

invasion of personal space, if not explicitly stated and agreed upon
discriminatory language
deadnaming & misgendering
not respecting expressed needs, desires and boundaries of others
violent communication
lack of adequate notice on the plans to stop communication and / or collaboration to fellow volunteers
jokes about marginalized communities
taking up major shares of talking time, constant interrupting
focusing on overgeneralized statements instead of “I-messages”

When facing such behavior, we strive to reflect upon the offending person’s situation and characteristics, as well as potential biases that we might have towards them based on discriminatory structures.

Reporting

If you come across a situation that appears to violate the CorrelAid’s Code of Conduct, if you want to raise a concern about a possible breach of the code of conduct, or if you experienced or witnessed a behavior that does not align with our working principles, the CorrelAid Ethics committee is there to support you.

You can reach out for support in different ways: in a situation on site (event, gathering etc.) there will usually be an awareness team that you can address. If no awareness team is present please reach out to the organizing team and report the issue. At events, the awareness team or if no awareness team is present the organizing team will enforce the code of conduct.

If you happen to come across a situation online, in chats, video conferences or want to report a situation that seems inappropriate in retrospect, you can reach out via e-mail (ethics@correlaid.org) or slack (#ask-the-ethics-committee) or reach out to the community team or the ethics committee in private messages.

Enforcement

If an awareness team is present on site of an event, they are responsible for enforcing the code of conduct. Other parties that may enforce the code of conduct are the event team, members of the commUnity team, members of the ethics committee, board members and CorrelAid employees. To that end, the tools described below will be used, depending on the assessment of the situation.

When problematic behavior is reported outside an event, the ethics committee or the community team will use the tools described below according to their assessment of the situation. The ethics committee can always involve the community team and vice versa.

Disrespectful Behavior

Respectful behavior is a skill to be learned by practice. We acknowledge this process and will allow everyone to learn and grow. Therefore, you will receive pointers regarding your behavior between 5 to 10 times, before you receive a warning. Receiving a second warning will result in exclusion.

Harassment

Depending on the severity of your action, you will receive a warning or face exclusion directly. Receiving a second warning will result in exclusion.

Warning

Warnings can be issued even without being addressed by someone. A warning consists of a short explanation of the problematic behavior followed by an explanation of the consequences in case the behavior reoccurs. You will be required to leave the current event. We will center the needs of affected people and believe that by requiring you to leave the event, we can relax the situation and postpone emotional work to a later point in time. Discussions / considerations about the warning can be initiated afterwards by contacting the issuing parties and the ethics committee.

Exclusion

Upon facing exclusion, you will be required to leave the current event. Excluded persons will furthermore be removed from all current and future communication channels and cannot attend future events.

Rehabilitation

You are responsible for your own rehabilitation. As resources are limited, CorrelAid cannot offer a restorative system (information e.g. here) in the near future. We will support your efforts to the best of our abilities.
Twelve months after your exclusion, you can appeal to the ethics committee. Your appeal should include documentation of your rehabilitation process, which could include

What you have learned / What you would do differently / Why you would change your past behavior
What steps you have taken to educate yourself
If there was restoration with individual affected persons, what the process and outcome of that was

Beware that the safety of our community will come first in all appeal processes, your appeal might not be granted.

Scope

These guidelines apply to all online and offline CorrelAid events, where events can be as big as CorrelCon or as small as a 2 person video call. It also applies to any written communication.