The Research Fairness Initiative (RFI) was developed by COHRED (Council on Health Research for Development) to promote principles of equity in North/South partnerships, being initially focused on health research. The RFI report provides a comprehensive analysis of the institutional behavior directly related to partnerships, and includes three main domains: fairness of opportunity; fair process; fair sharing of benefits, costs and outcomes.
RFI’s main goal, as a compliance tool, is the reconfiguration of knowledge management structures, bringing forward ethical and mutually beneficial partnerships. IHMT’s RFI Report underlines its history of capacity-building and partnerships within the CPLP, and identifies some aspects that can still be improved: knowledge dissemination; public engagement with science, technology and health; the social and political impact of IHMT’s research.
IHMT has been involved in the discussions, meetings and conferences that supported the development of the Research Fairness Initiative, and played a key role towards the adoption of the RFI by the CPLP during the meeting of health ministers in Brasília, in October 2017. It was recommended that the principles and guidelines of the RFI should be incorporated within RINSP and RIDES; during the second joint meeting of RIDES, in April 2018, member states’ representatives reiterated that commitment. IHMT is the first institution in the Portuguese-speaking world to prepare an RFI Report, and it will continue to campaign for its dissemination, reinforcing its commitment with fair principles and practices in global health research.
The report can be consulted here.