Ethics and research

The Neurological Foundation subjects each research funding application to rigorous peer review by a national scientific advisory committee, plus evaluation by at least four local and/or international experts in the field. Our advisory committee discusses whether the proposed methods are appropriate or whether the same results can be achieved with different methods, however we do not have an internal ethics committee, taking advice from the host institution on their ethics approval.

Before a successful project is funded, we require evidence of approval by a New Zealand ethics committee. These committees operate under a Code of Ethical Conduct approved by MPI, which includes representatives from organisations such as the SPCA and the NZ Veterinary Association. The ethics committees are guided by the principles of reducing, refining, and (wherever possible) replacing the use of animals in research.

New Zealand Universities have signed an Openness Agreement on Animal Research and Teaching in New Zealand. You can read more about this here.