Embedding ethics in the practice of humanitarian innovation

What comes to mind when you think about ‘ethics’? For most people, it’s something like ‘doing what is right’. But does ethical behaviour mean simply doing what you think is right? Is it sufficient to trust your common sense and get on with it? When we ask that question to innovators and social entrepreneurs working on complex social problems, the answer is usually ‘no’. We would agree.

Relying on our own judgement when making ethical decisions without wider, robust consideration rarely feels sufficient. We need to be able to reflect upon, deliberate over and discuss ethical decisions with other people, especially if these choices have potentially harmful implications. This is certainly the case when engaging in humanitarian innovation.

Innovation is about exploring new ideas and, as such, uncertainty and risk are part of the journey. Ethical decisions are inescapable, but humanitarian innovation is also inspired by the core commitments of humanitarianism – our value of humanity and desire to better support people affected by crises in ways that are empowering, equitable and inclusive.

Paying close attention to how values are enacted through innovation can promote greater coherence between aspirations and actions. As Chris Earney and Aarathi Krishnan put it in The art of values-based innovation, too often organisations ‘overlook or under-appreciate values as a way to motivate and interrogate innovation’.

Over the last 18 months, Elrha has been working with the Humanitarian Health Ethics Research Group from McMaster, McGill and Ohio State Universities to develop tools, guidance and case studies to support ethical decision-making. At the core of this resource are tools to help innovation teams recognise the ethical dimensions of their work, explore the values that inspire them and they seek to uphold as they innovate, and interrogate and refine their plans.

Recognising ethical decisions

Innovators and social entrepreneurs face numerous decisions that have ethical dimensions. These decisions arise throughout the course of designing, implementing and scaling an intervention. But it’s not always easy to recognise ethical decisions or understand their implications. This is a skill that Jet Gispen, a Rotterdam-based designer, refers to as ‘moral sensitivity’.

For our purposes, an ethically challenging situation is defined as a situation in which personal or institutional values are in tension or threatened, and:

1. all options require sacrificing something of ethical significance
2. there is uncertainty or disagreement about what the best course of action is, or
3. the ethically preferred option is clear but cannot be acted upon.

As part of Elrha’s work with the Humanitarian Health Ethics Research Group, we’ve spoken to people across the sector and analysed a range of case studies to identify the kinds of questions that people need to consider as they move through the innovation journey.

These questions form the basis of our ‘Ethics for Activities’ tool, which enables teams to discuss how particular ethical challenges arise in practice, prompted by questions from a deck of cards categorised according to activities commonly involved in innovation, and alongside case studies designed to help recognise and understand ethical decisions.

Consider the case of a Filipino community organiser in an informal settlement in Manila who starts a boat-building project to assist with rescue operations during annual floods. The project involves community consultation, product design, roll-out and sharing learning to help other boat-building projects.

Who should be included and prioritised in community consultations? Where should the boats be located? Is it possible, or right, to prevent the boats being used for reasons other than flood rescue? Who should be responsible for ongoing maintenance? What efforts should be made to grow the project beyond the local community?

These questions have ethical implications. In some instances, the ethically preferred response is not necessarily clear. In others, it is perhaps clear but cannot be enacted, or results in the perception that the ‘right thing to do’ may have negative consequences for some people. But if these are recognised as ethical questions, what is the best way to interrogate them and address them through an ethical lens?

Defining our values

There are lots of ways of thinking about what is ‘good’ and what is ‘right’. Religion, culture and laws play a big role in shaping our values and how we think about our responsibilities, including whether we emphasise the individual or the collective. Different schools of philosophy also provide different ways to understand ethics. Deontological ethics emphasises duties and obligations. Consequentialist ethics emphasises the impacts of our actions. Virtue ethics emphasises moral character.

The humanitarian system is guided by its own principles and standards, as are different sectors, such as health and education. There are also sets of principles that have been developed specifically in relation to innovation, including the Principles for Ethical Humanitarian Innovation developed for the 2016 World Humanitarian Summit, MSF’s Ethics Framework for Humanitarian Innovation and the Principles for Digital Development. As research is often an integral part of the innovation journey, research ethics principles – particularly in relation to human subject research – also warrant consideration.

Each of these initiatives is an effort to ‘get people on the same page’ regarding the basis for ethical decision-making in particular contexts. But for multi-disciplinary or intersectoral teams, or for those who don’t already anchor themselves to a particular set of principles or values, there may be a need to explore or reaffirm the basis for ethical decision-making. Even when people agree on a set of values, they may have different understandings of what they entail, or may struggle when values seem in conflict. Understanding different perspectives within a team, and among partners and stakeholders, is an important step to clarify what is ethically at stake – and for whom – in the innovation journey.

The innovation journey often raises fundamental questions about the values that guide an innovation team. As Earney and Krishnan ask, ‘how do we innovate according to what we care about?’ Our ‘Values Clarification’ tool enables teams to discuss, prioritise and explicitly agree shared values that will inspire their work and guide decision-making in relation to ethical challenges, clearly articulating how they will seek to enact these values in practice.

During workshops with humanitarian innovators and social entrepreneurs where we have tried out this tool, facilitated alongside our colleagues Gautham Krishnaraj and Lisa Schwartz, participants have highlighted many different values that inspire them, ranging from outcome-oriented humanitarian values (‘Do No Harm’) to personal virtues (humility, compassion) and characteristics of how we relate to each other (collaboration, respect).

Managing ethical decisions

Once you have recognised a particular situation or decision that might have ethical dimensions, and considered the different values that should inform your approach, how should you respond, and navigate any tensions? Working this out is a process that Jet Gispen refers to as ‘moral creativity’.

Using our ‘Foresighting’ tool, teams analyse their project work plans, assessing how ethical challenges might arise in relation to specific project activities, and discussing how they might best respond in light of their agreed values. This triangulation between activities, ethical challenges and values aims to spark moral creativity through well-structured discussion and the development of plans to anticipate and proactively respond to potential ethical concerns.

Consider the case of a Canadian social entrepreneur developing a music therapy programme in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The programme’s full holistic healing model aims to assist survivors of sexual violence in their recovery, and the music produced is used to advocate against sexual and gender-based violence.

The project demands robust learning about whether and how music therapy works. But when considering an evaluation that uses a control group, and the value of being ‘evidence based’ alongside the value of ‘Do No Harm’, how can the arising ethical challenge be addressed? Furthermore, how do commitments to the privacy and security of participants challenge plans to use their music for advocacy purposes?

Ultimately, there are no easy answers to these questions, but by being able to ask the right questions in the right way, and then make decisions based on agreed values and principles, it is possible to clearly articulate why a particular decision has been made on an ethically contentious issue – what Jet Gispen calls ‘moral advocacy’. This is critical for responsible innovation.

At Elrha we are committed to responsible innovation grounded in an awareness of, and accountability to, the humanitarian system of which we are a part. Our work with the Humanitarian Health Ethics Research Group is part of this commitment.

The Ethics for Humanitarian Innovation resource includes a toolkit, case studies and a background paper. The toolkit includes the three tools highlighted above, as well as two additional tools focused on organisational ethics and responding to ethical challenges. If you have any feedback, or would like further information, please get in touch: i.mcclelland@elrha.org

Ian McClelland is a Senior Innovation Manager at Elrha. Ian is an innovation management and strategic communications specialist and currently leads Elrha’s work on innovation skills and capabilities and community-led innovation.

Matthew Hunt, PT, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the School of Physical and Occupational Therapy of McGill University. Matt is a physiotherapist and bioethicist who conducts research related to ethics, humanitarian action and rehabilitation.