Introduction
Tackling infectious diseases requires policymakers and scientists to work together. Policy solutions to address infectious diseases involve trade-offs between values and may lead to ethical dilemmas. The Ethics and Policy Lab’s main aims are to bridge the gap between science and public policy and to make ethical dimensions of research and policy decisions transparent. To do so, we offer a variety of services to MCID researchers and to policymakers. We also conduct basic research on political and ethical aspects of infectious diseases, as well as applied research and policy evaluations on behalf of public administration.
The Ethics & Policy Lab has two main aims:
1) To analyse the ethical dimensions of research and policy responses on infectious diseases and to develop constructive solutions for dealing with related ethical conflicts.
2) To feed MCID-funded research outcomes into public policy and to facilitate political decisions that are based on scientific evidence.
We work with MCID researchers and policymakers to achieve these aims.
Our services to MCID researchers:
- Trainings on public policy and ethics (see under Events)
- Advice on how to engage in policymaking
- Support in reflecting upon ethical issues
- Support in drafting policy recommendations, policy briefs or white papers
- Support in identifying ethical aspects and policy-relevant research within the MCID
Our services to policymakers:
- Applied research
- Policy evaluations
- Advice on feasible, ethics-based and socially accepted policy measures
- Advice on policy implementation
- Advice and research on ethical aspects of infectious disease management and preparedness for future public health crises
