UA CE Project: Enhancing Early Career Research Ethics to Support Indigenous Research Governance

PROJECT SUMMARY: FACULTY/RESEARCHER CAREER ENHANCEMENT PROJECT – Enhancing
early career research ethics to support Indigenous data governance in Arizona
The proposed faculty/researcher enhancement project, the “Indigenous Data Governance Fellows” program,
targets early career faculty at the three public universities in Arizona (AZ) in a broad array of disciplines related
to health research with tribes and Indigenous communities in AZ. Health research as a transdisciplinary field
includes researchers who may have received ethics training in their own disciplines, yet many working with
tribal nations in AZ have not been trained in Indigenous research ethics or data governance practices. This
project intends to fill knowledge gaps in research ethics with Indigenous rights holders to promote a future of
more equitable science practices that protect Indigenous communities and their data. Using a cohort model
with early career faculty, the project will train 60 Fellows over 4 years. This project will also enhance
relationships among tribal serving researchers at AZ universities, enhance tribally driven research, and help
develop university policies and practices. This project links to ongoing research work on tribal, federal, and
university law, policy, and ethics for ethical Indigenous research and data governance. Our long-term goal is to
enhance tribal research and data governance in AZ. Our project objective is to equip early career researchers
at the three public universities in AZ with knowledge, tools, and perspectives to conduct research and steward
data in ways that comport with the Arizona Board of Regents Tribal Consultation Policy, university policies, and
Indigenous Peoples’ rights and interests. Our rationale is that as Indigenous Peoples increasingly engage with
the growing fields of health research, open data, and open science, researchers require information to
enhance their own Indigenous data governance practices for ethical research with communities. We plan to
accomplish our project objective by pursuing the following three specific aims: 1) Train early career
faculty/researchers in ethical research and data practices to enhance tribally-driven, community-based
research relationships by leveraging existing, cutting edge, unique coursework and training at the University of
Arizona and by growing a community of practice through four cohorts totaling 60 scholars; 2: Engage tribal
leaders, staff, community practitioners, and tribally-engaged researchers in AZ on Indigenous data governance
topics; and 3: Disseminate learnings from the Indigenous Data Governance Fellows program. Each cohort will
train 15 early stage investigators using a mix of collaborative, network cohort team meetings and innovative,
unique curriculum and training on tribal sovereignty, research relationships, mentoring Native students and
Indigenous data sovereignty, governance, and research topics.

Grant Number: 5S06GM146125-04
NIH Institute/Center: NIH
Principal Investigator: Stephanie Carroll