The Ethics of Funding and the Funding of Ethics

10th April 2019

Talk Synopsis:

In this seminar Dan will outline some key questions that we need to consider when thinking about the ‘ethics of funding’.  For example, if we really do all think funding research is a good thing, do we mean all types of research or just some? If we want to make distinctions, or if funds are limited, how do we decide what kinds of research to fund? Should we focus on risk and return or on specific areas of need? Should we look to immediate benefit, or think long term? Who gets to make these decisions about research funding, and what would it mean to be properly accountable for such decisions? In this seminar, Dan will use the example of Wellcome’s funding for bioethics research as a way of thinking through some of these questions, offering provocations and some possible answers.

• PDF of presentation slides

O'Connor D (2019).The Ethics of Funding and the Funding of Ethics. Invited speaker as a part of the Society and Ethics Research Seminar Series. 10 April. Wellcome Genome Campus, Cambridge, UK