The Global Forum on Bioethics in Research (GFBR) will hold a two-day meeting in Accra, Ghana in November 2025 on the topic: “Reimagining research partnerships: equity, power and resilience”. The deadline for application is Sunday 25 May 2025 11.59pm CEST/Geneva.
This notice includes details on the following:
- ABOUT GFBR
- TOPIC SUMMARY
- CALL FOR PARTICIPANTS
- CALL FOR PRESENTERS
- KEY THEMES AND QUESTIONS
- DEADLINE
- AWARDS: DECISION MAKING AND ELIGIBILITY FOR FUNDING
- NOTIFICATION
- PRIVACY
If you have any questions about this call, please contact gfbr@who.int.
1. ABOUT GFBR
The GFBR is a global platform for the exchange and sharing of experience and expertise on research ethics among researchers, policy makers and ethicists, among others. Compared to traditional meetings, GFBR is unique in that it is limited in size and built around small group discussions. The Forum prioritises the participation of colleagues from low- and middle- income countries (LMICs), encourages networking and mentoring, and creates a venue for open and inclusive discussions.
For more information see gfbr.global/about-the-gfbr and this introductory GFBR video:
The Forum focuses on a different emergent topic each year. This year’s topic “Reimagining research partnerships: equity, power and resilience” is described in the GFBR background paper and in the video in Section 2.
You can apply online as either a participant or presenter using these links:
(NOTE: When you open the application form, check the header to ensure you are completing the correct form. Depending on the configuration of your browser, you may need to scroll up to see the explanatory notes at the beginning of the form.)
Traditionally, the Forum is built around real-life case study presentations that ensure discussion of the ethical issues is grounded in the practical realities of how research is conducted, particularly in low resource settings. This year GFBR is also inviting normative and conceptual papers, along with proposals about governance and policy. See section 4 for further details.
Places are awarded on a competitive basis and successful applicants from LMICs will receive an award to cover the cost of their travel, accommodation and single-entry visa. Attendees need to cover their own travel insurance costs.
All interested applicants should review the information below and submit their application by Sunday 25 May 2025 at 11.59pm CEST/Geneva. The application forms will close automatically at the deadline so please ensure you have submitted your application in good time. Applications that are incomplete and/or not submitted by the deadline will not be considered. The application form does not allow you to save partial responses and return later. We recommend you prepare your written responses offline and copy them to the form when finalised.
Applications will be reviewed by the GFBR Planning Committee and selection will be made on the criteria listed below. Applicants are not limited to academic researchers; staff from government, non-governmental organizations, and private sector organizations are also encouraged to apply if their applications are focused on the topic.
If a presentation proposal is multi-author, and co-authors would like to attend, they must apply separately as participants and state the name of their co-author and title of the proposal in their application.
During GFBR, presenters from around the world will share their presentations and discuss cross-cutting issues, and then participants will discuss the challenges and questions raised in both plenary and small group discussion. The plenary and discussion sessions are conducted in English.
Provisional dates for the Forum are 18 & 19 November. The dates are subject to confirmation.
2. TOPIC
Please read the Forum background paper for details on the topic and scope.
Summary: Global health research partnerships are a dominant strategy for advancing scientific knowledge, technological innovation and improving health outcomes worldwide. Successful navigation of such relationships is a highly complex endeavour, owing significantly to interpersonal, institutional, national and international factors. Research partnerships occur through various kinds of formal and informal collaborative arrangements which are often particularly influenced by asymmetries in power and differences in epistemologies, context, and scientific culture. Partnership-based global health research can involve relationships between many kinds of stakeholders – academic institutions, health research funders, pharmaceutical companies, branches of national governments, and non-governmental organizations, amongst many others. Regardless of partnership type, disparities – financial, material, infrastructural, epistemic, and the like – are not only a downstream effect of systemic inequities that influence partnerships but also shape partnership inputs, processes, and outputs that further sustain and perpetuate these inequities. With increasing recognition of these asymmetries in global health research partnerships, a multitude of guidelines, principles, and recommendations have been developed to promote and protect fairer and more equitable partnership practices.
This year, the Global Forum on Bioethics in Research (GFBR) will focus on ethical challenges pertaining to research partnerships with ‘equity’ and ‘power’ as essential considerations that may relate to further constructs like ‘resilience’. For this discussion, global health research partnership equity is loosely understood as an ideal state in which certain imbalances in power between research partners are deliberately addressed through efforts to prioritize fair and mutually beneficial sharing of the inputs, processes, outputs, and impacts of research endeavours. This typically requires concerted attention to identifying and prioritizing potential equity-promoting actions proportionate to needs, defining and pursuing implementation strategies, and agreeing upon processes for measuring or monitoring progress. A central goal of this GFBR meeting is to shift the discussion beyond identifying inequities or injustices in research partnership practices, to creating solutions that are ethically justified, pragmatically operationalisable, and which may radically reimagine how we define and approach research partnerships as a global community.
This video provides an overview of the GFBR 2025 topic. Speakers highlight key themes and questions addressed in the background paper.
3. CALL FOR PARTICIPANTS
Who can attend the GFBR meeting?
The majority of participants are selected through a competitive process[1]. Up to 60 participants will be selected from those eligible who apply by the deadline. We are seeking broad geographical representation, a mix of disciplinary expertise including health researchers, clinicians, healthcare workers, bioethicists, policy-makers, health system functionaries, and lawyers, and a combination of people who are early in their careers and leaders in their fields. All participants are expected to actively take part in plenary and small group discussions and networking opportunities.
Accurate journalistic reporting is essential to ensure that the public are engaged and well informed about research. For that reason, GFBR will support the participation of up to three journalists from LMICs. The meeting will provide a unique opportunity for talented journalists to network with international experts and forge stronger connections between health researchers, ethicists, policy-makers and journalists. Funding support will be provided to LMIC based journalists only.
To apply to attend as a participant or journalist, please complete the online participant application form, which contains six sections:
- Data protection consent
- Your experience and motivation to attend GFBR
- Personal details (name, contact details etc.)
- Work and training (your current and past jobs etc.)
- Funding request
- Personal references
Journalists: Please provide details on the application form about:
- Your journalistic experience
- The ways in which you would disseminate the meeting outcomes in your local and regional context, including which media outlets you propose to use and the format of reporting.
This sample participant application form shows the information you’ll be asked to provide. This document is for reference only.
4. CALL FOR PRESENTERS
The GFBR organisers are looking for three types of presentation proposal:
- Real-life case studies of research partnerships that deepen understanding of ethical challenges, demonstrate the development of good practices and/or share experiences of using experimental approaches to research partnership. Cases that only state ethical challenges encountered in research partnerships will be received with lower priority, as these are already well documented in the literature. Case studies should move the discussion forward.
- Conceptual and normative papers that provide in-depth ethical analysis related to the topic.
- Papers that address governance or policy issues that relate to the topic (e.g., focusing on institutional, national, regional or international regulation, guidelines, policy, principles or issues associated with research ethics review or other governance bodies, mechanisms or tools).
Proposals may relate to the questions listed in Section 5 of this call (‘Key themes and questions’) or other issues that present ethical challenges or solutions pertaining to equity, power, or resilience in research partnerships. Proposals should be relevant to research collaboration that occurs either within the global South or between the global South and global North. The key themes are discussed further in the background paper and in the video in Section 2.
If you’d like to see examples of case studies from a past GFBR meeting, on a different topic, take a look at this programme.
HOW TO APPLY
To apply, please complete the online presenter application form, which contains seven sections:
- Data protection consent
- Your experience and motivation to attend GFBR
- Presentation proposal, using this structure:
- Brief description to help the reader understand the context (350 words maximum)
- Ethical analysis or discussion of governance/policy issues (700 words maximum)
- Conclusions and two recommendations (250 words maximum)
- Personal details (name, contact details etc.)
- Work and training (your current and past jobs etc.)
- Funding request
- Personal references
IMPORTANT NOTES:
- The application form does not allow you to save partial responses and re-open the form later on. We therefore strongly recommend you prepare and save your written responses to Sections 2 and your presentation proposal off-line and copy them into the form when finalised.
- The application form has a 4,000 character limit (including spaces) for a long-form answer. If your ‘Ethical analysis or discussion of governance/policy issues’ is greater than this limit, please split your commentary into two parts on the form. Otherwise, if you enter more than 4,000 characters in one response, the text will be truncated and lost.
This sample presenter application form shows the information you’ll be asked to provide. This document is for reference only.
If you are unsure about the suitability of your proposal and would like feedback, please email gfbr@who.int by 16 May 2025.
5. KEY THEMES AND QUESTIONS
We are interested in receiving presentation proposals from a variety of perspectives and contexts and on a broad range of issues. Proposals could address (but are not limited to) one or more of the following themes, which are discussed in the background paper. In general, case studies should focus on no more than three ethical issues.
GFBR addresses a different topic each year. To promote continuity the organisers encourage proposals on the current topic, which also touch on past GFBR topics[2]. However, this is not a requirement.
Geography and terminology
- Is ‘partnerships’ still the most relevant and appropriate term to describe the dynamics at play in how collaborative global health research is conducted?
- How should different kinds of partnership models be evaluated (i.e., North-South, South-South, North-North, South-North-South), and should the historical context of partnership models inform/influence such ethical assessments?
- How should we define partnerships between geographic regions, considering existing perceptions in global health literature—particularly the distinctions between high-income countries (HICs) and low- and middle-income countries (LMICs)? Should such definitions address material and discursive inequities, and employ aspirational language and models aimed at overcoming existing disparities without running the risk of re-inscribing inequities?
- As an academic matter, the literature on ‘global health research partnership equity’ and ‘decolonizing global health research’ are both dominated by lead researchers in the global North. What does this mean in terms of the validity and representativeness? What values, theories, and knowledge systems should inform further development of this as an academic space? Are there trade-offs and when are these ethically justifiable?
Economics and politics
- What is the interplay between development and scientific research concerning mechanisms of accountability or feasibility of equity in research partnerships?
- In what ways do these connections promote or limit access to healthcare in under-resourced settings?
- Do partnerships, by definition, promote mechanisms of economic or health dependence for partners in the global South by sustaining connections and collaborations with the global North?
- In what ways could research funding and sustainability of research partnerships become less dependent on geopolitical and economic interests?
Responsibility and accountability
- What aspects of research partnership equity are ‘quantifiable’ or ‘measurable’? How can they be monitored and incentivized?
- There are criticisms that checklists and indicators are intrinsically colonial mechanisms used to exert dominance and authority (Chaudruri et al. 2022). Does this mean they should not be used in evaluating the integrity and quality of research partnership equity in global health? What are the trade-off and values that support using versus not using checklists in this setting?
- How ought different actors have differentiated responsibility for ensuring more equitable collaborations? Which values and processes should inform this?
- Are current ethical theories and approaches sufficient to account for complex histories and research partnerships in different contexts? If so, which theories are useful? If no, what other theories, disciplines and approaches may be required?
Emergencies
- What are some examples of research partnership models that have effectively facilitated responses to public health emergencies and how do they promote equity?
- How does the risk of future public health emergencies underscore the need for capacity building in the global South? Who is responsible for investing in and developing this capacity?
- In light of future public health emergencies and current epidemiological data and forecasting, which values do we prioritize now in developing partnerships?
- How and when do public health emergencies justify a re-evaluation of balancing or prioritizing competing values within research partnerships and what should these adjusted priorities look like?
Futures
- What do you imagine as an ideal future for global health research partnerships? What is needed to realize that future?
- What ethical goals or values should health research partnerships prioritize or aim to achieve going forward?
- How ought these goals and research partnerships themselves be protected during major political shifts (including instances of unilateral decision-making) in power and access on the global stage?
- If a major sponsor reduces or stops providing the means, staff and resources, who should replace its role? Where should these replacement resources come from? How should such dependence be avoided in the future?
- Global health partnerships may inadvertently support or collude with unjust structures and systems. How can partnerships not only avoid this but actively resist complicity?
- Should bioethics be charged with setting the ethical trajectory of partnerships in global health?
6. DEADLINE
Submit your application online before Sunday 25 May 2025 11.59pm CEST/Geneva, in English. Please ensure you include all the requested information, as incomplete applications will not be considered.
We recommend you review the requirements of the application form well in advance of the deadline to see what’s required. The application forms will close automatically at the deadline so please ensure you have submitted your application in good time. Applications that are not submitted by the deadline – and applications received by email – will not be considered.
7. AWARDS: DECISION MAKING AND ELIGIBILITY FOR FUNDING
CRITERIA
The GFBR Planning Committee will select successful candidates (both self-funded and those applying for funded places). The selection committee will consider the following factors when considering the applications:
- Country of origin. We would like to ensure a representative distribution of participants from different regions;
- Background/current area of expertise. Applications will be selected for a diverse representation of many different disciplines, relating to the Forum topic;
- Experience or demonstrated interest in the ethical issues related to research partnerships;
- Reasons for attending the meeting. Participants who will be able to actively contribute to the meeting and who expect to achieve impact from the meeting;
- Presenter proposals only:
- Relevance to the meeting topic and the LMICs context.
- Proposals move the discussion forward. Proposals that only state ethical challenges encountered in research partnerships will be received with lower priority, as these are already well documented in the literature.
- Journalists only: Demonstrated journalistic training and experience and concrete proposals for how the meeting findings will be disseminated, including which media outlets and the format of reporting.
- Past GFBR participants only: Demonstrated impact from previous attendance and robust justification for attending in 2025.
SUCCESSFUL APPLICANTS
Successful applicants from LMICs who require full funding will receive an award to cover:
- return travel to the meeting (economy airfare and standard ground transportation costs);
- accommodation (normally 2 nights, including meals);
- a single entry visa (if required).
Participants will be expected to meet all other costs (e.g. travel insurance).
Outbound flights will be booked to arrive the day before the Forum. The return flight will be booked for the evening the Forum ends. If no flights are available that evening, a flight will be booked for the following day and a third night of accommodation will be provided.
Successful applicants from high income countries are expected to cover their own costs (including travel and accommodation). There is no registration fee. GFBR will cover the cost of the day delegate fee and conference dinner.
SUCCESSFUL PRESENTATION PROPOSALS
Selected presenters will be grouped into thematic sessions (see the GFBR 2024 agenda as an example). The session presenters will be paired with a member of the GFBR Planning Committee to provide informal mentorship and help them develop their written paper (up to 3 pages) and a PowerPoint presentation. We aim to arrange two Zoom calls for the session mentor and session presenters to meet to discuss their presentations and collaboratively develop the session theme. The first call will be late August/early September for introductions to each other and your papers and to discuss the session theme. The second call will be mid/late October to run through your draft presentations.
If your presentation is not selected you will be considered in the applications to attend as a participant.
8. NOTIFICATION
All applicants will be informed of the Planning Committee’s decision by the 30 August 2025. The decision of the committee will be final.
9. PRIVACY
The application form describes the purposes for which WHO will collect and process the personal data you provide in your application and describes your rights as a data subject. WHO’s personal data protection framework includes the WHO Privacy Policy available at https://www.who.int/about/who-we-are/privacy-policy) and the UN Personal Data Protection and Privacy Principles, which are available at the following link: https://archives.un.org/sites/archives.un.org/files/_un-principles-on-personal-data-protection-privacy-hlcm-2018.pdf
Support for GFBR 2025: Wellcome, the UK Medical Research Council (MRC), the National Institutes of Health and the South African MRC are providing funding for this meeting.
16 April 2025
[1] The GFBR also directly invites a number of participants e.g. expert speakers or representatives of key organisations.
[2] For example, past Forum’s have focused on the ethics of mental health research, genomics research, research during epidemics, novel trial designs (e.g. adaptive trials), health research prioritisation, the use of artificial intelligence in health research and climate and health research. For the full list of past topics see: www.gfbr.global/past-meetings.