A. PURPOSE OF THE POLICY
IFEX is proud of its reputation as an organisation with the highest standards of honesty. The integrity of IFEX depends on ethical behaviour throughout the organization, and in particular, on fair, well-informed decision-making. The ability to make a decision is sometimes affected by other interests (personal or professional) of individuals in the organization. The objective of this policy is to enable IFEX to manage conflict of interest situations successfully and to resolve them fairly.
B. DEFINITION OF CONFLICT OF INTEREST
A “conflict of interest” is a situation in which a person has a private or personal interest sufficient to appear to influence the objective exercise of his or her official duties at IFEX.
“Private or personal interest” refers to an individual’s self-interest (e.g. to achieve financial profit or avoid loss, or to gain another special advantage or avoid a disadvantage); the interests of the individual’s immediate family (defined according to Canadian law) or business partners or the interests of another organization in which the individual holds a position (voluntary or paid).
“Objective exercise of duties” refers to an individual’s ability to carry out her or his responsibilities in the best interests of IFEX.
C. SCOPE
This Policy applies to all Council members, employees and consultants working for IFEX, including contract staff. They are responsible for ensuring compliance with this policy and for managing conflict of interest situations with good judgment and ethical behaviour.
D. APPLICATION AND RESPONSIBILITIES
This policy will be provided to all Council members, employees and consultants working for IFEX, including contract staff, during their onboarding orientation.
All Council members, employees and consultants working for IFEX, including contract staff, are responsible for his or her own conflict of interest situation by:
- Developing awareness of the policy;
- Self-declaring potential problems to his or her Supervisor or Convenor;
- Respectfully identifying potential problems of other staff members;
- Undertaking follow-up action(s) as determined by the Executive Director; and
- Making disclosures when circumstances change significantly.
If the staff member is uncomfortable addressing his/her concerns to his/her Supervisor, the individual is invited to contact any member of the IFEX Personnel Committee.
Executive Director
The Executive Director is responsible for the ongoing application of the policy and procedures to staff. The Executive Director will:
- Provide a point of contact for advice about conflict of interest matters;
- Determine the actions required as a result of confidential disclosures by staff;
- Receive complaints about possible breaches of the policy;
- Determine the actions required by breaches of the policy; and
- Report on any conflict of interest situation to IFEX Council.
- The Executive Director’s own conflict of interest situation is the responsibility of the Convenor. The Convenor also manages any conflicts of interest reported about or self-reported by Council Members.
Personnel Committee
The Personnel Committee will assist the Executive Director in the administration and application of this policy. The Personnel Committee will:
- Review the conflict of interest policy every 5 years, or when the nature of the organisation changes significantly;
- Be informed about complaints about possible breaches of the policy;
- Provide guidance in the development of communications and materials for conflict of interests training;
- Keep a record of conflict of interest situations and resolution processes;
- Ensure that conflict of interest training is provided to all new staff, every 2 years to regular staff, or when Personnel Committee consider it necessary.
Conflict of interest training will speak to and provide preventive measures to avoid conflict of interest situations, such as:
- Education about what to do when gifts and hospitality are offered;
- Providing meeting agendas in advance to enable participants to foresee possible conflicts;
- Ensuring that people are clearly told when information must be protected from improper use.
E. CONFLICT OF INTEREST RESOLUTION
Where prevention is not the solution, conflict of interest situations must be managed. The Executive Director is the final authority on resolving conflict of interest situations. Once the Executive Director receives a report of a conflict of interest, the steps to be taken are:
- Ensure transparency and make sure that a record of the self-declaration is made.
- Assess the risks. Identify the issues, judge how serious they are, take action in a timely manner, and verify that the conflict has been resolved.
- Discuss it. The Executive Director may address the situation in consultation with the Personnel Committee. In cases of serious conflicts, inform the Convenor and where appropriate disclose the conflict to the IFEX Council at the earliest opportunity.
- Deal with it. Measures to mitigate or eliminate a conflict of interest will depend on what is appropriate to the circumstances of the situation.
- Document what has been done. Meeting minutes, correspondence to interested parties, and all relevant documentation will provide a record of steps taken.
Actions may include the following, depending on the nature of the conflict:
- Remove the individual from affected duties for the duration for which the conflict of interest exists;
- The individual relinquishes the private interest. In cases of serious conflict, the individual may choose to drop the private interest that is the source of the conflict.
- The individual may resign from IFEX official duties in those cases where other solutions are not possible.
- The person who is involved in possible conflict of interest can recuse themselves from such situation for the duration for which the conflict of interest exists.
If it is deemed necessary, IFEX legal services will be involved in the final disposition. Steps will also be taken to prevent further conflicts of interest.
F. DEALING WITH CONFLICT OF INTEREST OF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OR COUNCIL
The Convenor is the key person to establish the ethical climate for IFEX and its Council, and for ongoing attention to conflict of interest issues within the Council. The Convenor is also responsible for the resolution of conflict of interest situations involving the Executive Director. Steps to be taken when dealing with such situations are:
- The Executive Director and Council members must disclose possible conflict situations to the Convenor.
- If the situation warrants it, the Convenor must declare the nature and extent of the conflict and undertake a full dialogue with the rest of Council members.
- The individual who has a conflict of interest leaves the meeting during the entire discussion and the vote on that matter, and this is recorded in the minutes.
G. DEALING WITH CONFLICT OF INTEREST OF THE CONVENOR
The Convenor’s own conflict of interest situation should be disclosed to the Deputy Convenor, who must manage the conflict resolution process following the steps above described for the Executive Director.
H. TRANSPARENCY
The application of this Policy involves two types of transparency:
- Confidential Disclosure: Affected persons must provide information on a possible conflict interest and related matters to the Executive Director (or Convenor if appropriate). This information will be kept strictly confidential.
- Declaration to Concerned Parties: If the Executive Director (or Convenor if appropriate) deems that a particular element of information on a possible conflict of interest must be provided to a wider audience of concerned parties (such as the members of a Committee or the Council), then a declaration of the conflict of interest situation will be made and recorded. The person involved should be consulted prior to the wider declaration.