About CFRS
Mission and Activities
The Committee on Freedom and Responsibility in the conduct of Science (CFRS) serves as the guardian of the Principle of the Universality of Science, enshrined in ICSU’s Statute 5 and adherence to which is a condition of ICSU membership. This embodies aspects of both freedom and responsibility of scientists in the conduct of their work. Under the over-riding authority of the ICSU Executive Board, and respecting its Terms of Reference and Work Plan, CFRS acts as the 'corporate memory' and international reference point on these issues, and takes action as necessary in relation to breaches of the Universality Principle.
In pursuance of CFRS' mission, the committee’s members examine relevant issues at bi-annual reunions, proceedings of which are publicly available in CFRS meeting reports. To raise international awareness among the scientific community for the freedoms and responsibilities related to the conduct of science, CFRS organises and co-sponsors workshops and conferences on pertinent topics and issues Advisory Notes serving as guidelines for scientists. Recent themes have been research integrity, science and the media, access to data and research material, and bias in publishing.
The committee also plays an important role in attempting to resolve visa problems for individual scientists and to ensure that they can freely associate and communicate. For this, it ensures a close liaison with the International Human Rights Network of Academies and Scholarly Societies.
A Short History
Since its inception, ICSU has been concerned with ensuring the freedom in the conduct of science. This gained momentum in the Cold War context, which hampered exchange between scientists from the East and West because visa problems became obstacles. This resulted, in 1963, in the formation of the Standing Committee on the Free Circulation of Scientists (SCFCS), focusing on action in individual such cases. In 1993, the name changed to Standing Committee on Freedom in the Conduct of Science, while leaving the acronym, which had become too familiar to change. At the same time, responsibilities of scientists inherent in the Universality of Science Principle were debated within the ICSU community, leading to the establishment of the Standing Committee on Ethics and Responsibility in Science (SCRES) in 1996.
The two policy committees cooperated with each other, eventually merging to what became CFRS in 2006. The impetus for this came from a strategic ICSU review, which had analysed the changing context for scientific practice and its relationship with, and influence on, other sectors of society. CFRS differed significantly from its predecessors because it was explicitly charged with also considering the responsibilities of scientists. A guiding document is the booklet "Freedom, Responsibility and Universality of Science", which does not attempt to dictate new universal norms and codes, but rather aims to provide an overall framework for reflection and debate.
In 2009, Peter Schindler wrote a short history of CFRS and its predecessor organisations
Organisation
The work of CFRS and its predecessors was ably conducted by several Chairs, namely Nicolas Herlofson (Norway, 1963-1972), Torbjörn Caspersson (Sweden, 1972-82), Inga Fischer-Hjalmars (Sweden, 1982-1991), Staffan Helmfrid (Sweden, 1991-1995), James Dooge (Ireland, 1996-2002; ICSU President 1993-96), Peter Warren (UK, 2002-05) and Bengt Gustafsson (Sweden, 2006-12). They were, since 1972, assisted by two Executive Secretaries, Olof Tandberg (Sweden, 1972-96) and Peter Schindler (Switzerland, 1997-2005). In 2006, the dossier was transferred to the ICSU Deputy Executive Director, Carthage Smith. Since 2010, and with generous support from the Swiss Academy of Sciences (SCNAT), Executive Secretary Roger Pfister, based in Berne, supports him in this task.
Contact
CFRS Secretariat
c/o Swiss Academy of Sciences SCNAT
Schwarztorstrasse 9
CH-3007 Berne
Switzerland
Tel: +41 31 310 40 23
Fax: +41 31 310 40 29
roger.pfister@icsu.org
