Code of Conduct

The i2Coalition Board and staff, including all members of the i2Coalition who take part in the i2Coalition Working Groups, agree to abide by this Code of Conduct:

• Listen to the views of all stakeholders when discussing and considering policy issues. Those who take part in i2Coalition must acknowledge the importance of all participants and seek to understand their points of view.
• Respect all members of the i2Coalition community equally, behave in a professional manner and demonstrate appropriate behavior. i2Coalition strives to create and maintain an environment in which people of many different backgrounds and cultures are treated with dignity, decency, and respect. Participants in i2Coalition working groups must not engage in any type of harassment, including unwelcome hostile or intimidating behavior — in particular, speech or behavior that is aggressive or that intimidates based on attributes such as race, gender, ethnicity, religion, age, color, national origin, ancestry, disability or medical condition, sexual orientation, or gender identity.
• Treat all members of the i2Coalition community equally, irrespective of nationality, gender, racial or ethnic origin, religion or beliefs, disability, age, or sexual orientation. Members of the i2Coalition community should treat each other with civility both face-to-face and online.
• Act within the mission of i2Coalition and in the spirit of the organization’s values, and in good faith with other participants. 
• Participate in policy development and decision-making processes in a reasonable, fair, and informed manner. This includes regularly attending all scheduled meetings and exercising independent judgment based solely on what is in the overall best interest of our member organizations, irrespective of personal interests and the interests of the entity to which an individual might owe their appointment. 
• Work to build consensus. The i2Coalition model is based on a bottom-up, consensus-driven approach to policy development. Those who take part in the i2Coalition process must take responsibility for ensuring the success of the model by trying to build consensus with other participants.
• Disclose potential conflicts of interest. The I2Coalition is committed to the highest levels of integrity, and all parties are expected to conduct their relationships with each other, i2Coalition and outside organizations with objectivity and honesty. Individuals are obligated to disclose ethical, legal, financial and other relevant conflicts of interest and remove themselves from a position of decision-making authority if it would affect any decision-making.
• Facilitate transparency and openness when participating in policy development and decision-making processes.
• Support the maintenance of robust mechanisms for public input, accountability, and transparency so as to ensure that policy development and decision-making processes will reflect the public interest and be accountable to all stakeholders.
• Protect the organization’s assets and ensure their efficient and effective use.
• Promote ethical and responsible behavior. Ethics and integrity are essential, and i2Coalition expects all participants to behave in a responsible and principled way.
• Encourage openness of discussion and facilitate the sharing of information by respectfully observing the Chatham House Rule (the “Rule”): When a meeting or other gathering is held, participants are free to use the information received, but neither the identity nor the affiliation of the speaker or speakers, nor that of any other participant, may be disclosed. The Rule applies online including social media sites, as well as in offline venues such as discussions and publications.