OUR FOUNDING PRINCIPLES
How We Hold Ethics, Care & Diligence at IQC
IQC's research is built on a set of principles that shape every study we run, every protocol we write, and every relationship we hold with participants, researchers, and partners. These principles summarise the standards behind our work, our fuller policies and procedures are held internally and shared with researchers, participants, and partners as relevant to their role.
Participant Sovereignty & Consent
Every participant chooses freely to take part. They're given a clear, honest picture of what a study involves, and they remain free to step back at any time, without question.
Confidentiality by Design
Personal details are always kept separate from research data. Access to identifying information is limited to those who need it, and it is never used beyond the purpose it was collected for.
Diligent & Honest Reporting
Our research protocols are reviewed by our research leadership before use, and our findings are shared honestly, including their limitations and what remains uncertain.
Trained, Supported Researchers
Everyone who conducts research on IQC's behalf, staff and volunteers alike, is prepared and supported before working with participants, and never asked to carry more than they've been trained for.
Shared Governance
Significant changes to how we work are made together, with agreement across our senior research and operations leads, not by any single person acting alone.
Careful Use of Technology
Any tool used in our research process, including recording, transcription, or AI-assisted software, is checked for privacy and reliability before we rely on it.
Learning from Experience
When something goes wrong, we have a clear way to identify it, address it, and use it to strengthen how we work, treating mistakes as a source of growth, not blame.
Integrity in Partnership
Anyone we collaborate with outside IQC, from external researchers to facilitators, is held to the same standards of care and confidentiality we hold for ourselves.
We want the evidence we bring to the world to be something people can trust, grounded, transparent, and true to the same integrity we ask of ourselves in every other part of IQC's work.
Participant Sovereignty & Consent
Every participant chooses freely to take part. They're given a clear, honest picture of what a study involves, and they remain free to step back at any time, without question.
Confidentiality by Design
Personal details are always kept separate from research data. Access to identifying information is limited to those who need it, and it is never used beyond the purpose it was collected for.
Diligent & Honest Reporting
Our research protocols are reviewed by our research leadership before use, and our findings are shared honestly, including their limitations and what remains uncertain.
Trained, Supported Researchers
Everyone who conducts research on IQC's behalf, staff and volunteers alike, is prepared and supported before working with participants, and never asked to carry more than they've been trained for.
Shared Governance
Significant changes to how we work are made together, with agreement across our senior research and operations leads, not by any single person acting alone.
Careful Use of Technology
Any tool used in our research process, including recording, transcription, or AI-assisted software, is checked for privacy and reliability before we rely on it.
Learning from Experience
When something goes wrong, we have a clear way to identify it, address it, and use it to strengthen how we work, treating mistakes as a source of growth, not blame.
Integrity in Partnership
Anyone we collaborate with outside IQC, from external researchers to facilitators, is held to the same standards of care and confidentiality we hold for ourselves.
We want the evidence we bring to the world to be something people can trust, grounded, transparent, and true to the same integrity we ask of ourselves in every other part of IQC's work.