Accountability and credibility

Staff in Science Division are committed to the principles outlined in the Code of Conduct for the Queensland Public Service, including:

1. Integrity and impartiality
2. Promoting the public good
3. Commitment to the system of government
4. Accountability and transparency.

We uphold the principles and ethics of the Code of Conduct by ensuring our staff adhere to:

• external, independent peer reviews of processes and methods to ensure credibility of our science outputs and appropriate acknowledgement of intellectual property and authorship
• the departmental policy on conflict-of-interest declarations for projects, procurements and appointments
• agreed contractual arrangements and memoranda of understanding with our clients, both internal and external to government
• the highest standards of science service delivery by following the Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research and other relevant research ethics, laws, codes of conduct and standards (e.g. ISO Standards and NATA accreditation)
• the principles of the department’s Open Data Strategy
• the Office of the Queensland Chief Scientist’s:
  • scientific collections principles,
  • the ROI approach for public good research investment and partnerships
  • REDS decision rules to guide Queensland Government investment in research and development (REDS – Real future impact; external commitment; Distinctive angle; Scaling toward critical mass).

Our principles for conducting science are based around:

• delivering quality assured and defensible science to support and inform evidence-based government decision making and planning
• ensuring our science is reliable, accurate, transparent and fit-for-purpose, with scientific methods, analytical processes and publications independently assessed, peered reviewed and adhering to national standards and accreditations, and with data and information aligned to the FAIR principles (findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable)
• adopting a business model to collaborate with other research organisations, universities, other government science agencies, private and not-for-profit sectors to harness the best available scientific minds, tools and knowledge
• continuing to invest in the capability of our people through training, professional and accelerated learning, modernisation of our systems and infrastructure, attraction and retention of talent, and development of succession plans and knowledge sharing.