Our Commitment to Impartiality
IPPIN is committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity, objectivity, and public trust in all our activities. We recognise that actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest can undermine the credibility of our work. Our policy is designed to ensure that all decisions, recommendations, and outputs are based solely on merit, evidence, and our organizational mandate, free from improper influence.
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1. Scope and Definition
This policy applies to all Members of the IPPIN Working Group (collectively, "Individuals") involved in our work.​
Conflict of Interest (COI) Defined: A COI exists when an Individual’s personal interest (e.g., financial, professional, or personal relationship) could improperly influence, or appear to influence, their judgment in fulfilling their organisational duties. This includes:
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Direct Interests: Holding a financial stake in an entity that may benefit from a decision.
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Professional Interests: Working with people/groups from IPPIN affiliated organisations.
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External Engagements: Working with groups whose policies or funding structures (e.g., industry-funded entities) could be perceived as compromising the impartiality of our network’s work.
2. Management and Declaration Process
We employ a three-step process to identify and manage conflicts of interest:​
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Declaration: All Individuals must declare their interests annually, as well as before participating in any decision-making process (e.g., funding calls, guideline development, or committee meetings). Declarations must be transparent and comprehensive, covering all relevant personal and professional interests.
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Assessment: The IPPIN Working Group reviews all declared interests to determine if a COI exists and assesses whether it is an actual, potential, or perceived conflict.
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Management: For any identified COI, a clear management strategy will be implemented, which may include:
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Exclusion from Discussion/Voting: The conflicted Individual will be asked to leave the room for the discussion and vote on the relevant item.
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Recusal: The Individual will not be allocated any materials related to the conflict.
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Public Disclosure: The nature of the conflict and the management strategy applied will be recorded in the meeting minutes and publicly disclosed.
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Voluntary recusal: We recognise that members may hold different organisational policies, relationships, or constraints. If a project raises a COI or other significant concern for a member, they may step back from that specific project, while remaining involved in other group activities
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3. Transparency in Public and External Engagement
To address the complexity of working with diverse groups, our network will maintain full transparency regarding all external engagements:
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Disclosure of Engagement: We will publicly state how we are engaging with different groups, including industry, patient-led organisations, and policymakers.
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Clear Policy on External Funding: Our policy clearly outlines the boundaries for working with externally funded entities to ensure that the integrity of our core mission and independence is maintained.