We seek to create guidelines for the design, coordination, implementation, and dissemination of STEM research that integrates DEI and ELSI in a manner that leads to more equitable and just science and technology. This requires the creation of analytic spaces in which to reflect on the underlying assumptions and practices of ELSI and DEI, and their effectiveness at achieving their stated goals of equity, justice and inclusion. Creating these spaces will require not only more robust collaboration with STEM researchers, but also greater communication and partnerships between scholars and practitioners of bioethics with scholars in critical racial and ethnic studies, disability studies, STS, anthropology of science, history, political philosophy, and public sociology. Our project team and advisory board bridge across these domains, and will seed the incipient collaborative intellectual communities required to create the transformative intellectual and institutional work needed to secure more just and equitable forms of science and engineering.

The proposed LEED guidelines will address underlying structural barriers to an equitable integration of ethical and societal expertise of STEM research. It will provide practical guidance on how to transform the power structures and practices that organize research to ensure that DEI and ELSI expertise is integrated into the very conceptualization of research. These are critical transformations if we are to achieve the creation of just and ethical forms of science and engineering. The project team will create practical, conceptually engaged, and ethically robust guidelines for ELSI and DEI in STEM research that are developed, implemented, and maintained similar to the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating Systems.

As a practical example:

The LEED Green Building Rating System is a concise framework for identifying and implementing practical and measurable green building design, construction, operation, and maintenance strategies. It either has been adopted or incentivized in over 750 policies by federal, state, and local governments, and is continually being updated to include the latest research, evidence-based practices, and policies.

What’s Next?

This research project will begin conducting background research guided by the following core issues and questions:

• How should STEM research teams form and what position should ELSI and DEI have within them?
• Who counts as a DEI and ELSI expert? How should these experts be brought onto research teams and what should they be asked to do? What role should they play in creating research budgets and governing bodies?
• What counts as success in DEI/ELSI integration in STEM research? Are there feasible metrics for success?
• What values should inform the economic and governing structures of STEM research?

The project will proceed in three phases: (1) background research via case studies; (2) drafting of LEED Principles and Practices; and (3) an international discussion and write-up of LEED Principles and Practices.

Case Studies: While a variety of ELSI engagement efforts have been made across a variety of fields, no consensus has emerged regarding best practices for ethics engagement or integration. By focusing on cases where significant funding has already been directed toward ELSI efforts that are DEI informed, we aim to position ourselves to develop best practices that will have a good chance of uptake and impact.

Draft Guidelines: The project team will establish draft LEED Principles and Practices through a series of expert workshops with a diverse representation of stakeholders.

International Discussion: Once the initial draft is ready, we will organize an international meeting to discuss, debate and further revise these practices before publication and distribution to scientific professional societies and funding bodies for discussion and possible implementation. Meeting participants will finalize the LEED Principles and Practices for publication to be shared broadly with funding agencies and policy makers.