Neuroinformatics Unit Code of Conduct#
Summary#
The Neuroinformatics Unit (NIU) is dedicated to providing a harassment-free experience for everyone. We do not tolerate harassment of participants in any form. This Code of Conduct applies to any events hosted by the Neuroinformatics Unit, such as the Open Software Summer School.
All communication should be appropriate for a professional audience including people of many different backgrounds.
Be kind to others. Do not insult or put down other attendees.
Behave professionally. Remember that harassment and exclusionary jokes are not appropriate. Do not send any unprofessional messages to other participants including, but not limited to, private messages in Zulip.
Participants violating these rules may be asked to leave the event at the sole discretion of the organisers.
Thank you for helping make our events welcoming and friendly for all.
Clarifications#
Harassment includes offensive communication related to gender, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, religion, sexual images in public spaces, deliberate intimidation, stalking, following, harassing photography or recording, sustained disruption of talks or other events, inappropriate physical contact, and unwelcome sexual attention.
Participants asked to stop any harassing behaviour are expected to comply immediately.
Be careful in the words that you choose. Remember that words can be offensive to those around you.
Examples of behaviour that is not welcome or appropriate at any event include offensive jokes, use of sexual language and imagery, excessive swearing, and repeatedly talking over or interrupting other participants.
Participants will have differing opinions; we want to promote open but respectful discussions and be more inclusive and welcoming to people from different backgrounds. To this end, please be mindful of the language and tone that you use when discussing points of view and lived experiences.
If a participant engages in behaviour that violates this Code of Conduct, the workshop organisers may take any action they deem appropriate, including warning the offender, removing speaking privileges, or expulsion from the event.
Contact Information#
If you are being harassed, notice that someone else is being harassed, or have any other concerns, please contact any member of the Code of Conduct committee. This committee will include all members of NIU staff organising the event along with the Head of the NIU, Adam Tyson (adam.tyson@ucl.ac.uk). All NIU event organisers are prepared to handle the incident and are informed of the Code of Conduct policy and guide for handling misconduct. There will be a mandatory meeting prior to each event when this will be reiterated.
Procedure for Reporting Harassment#
Please contact any member of the code of the event organising committee, or the Head of the NIU, Adam Tyson (adam.tyson@ucl.ac.uk). This can be in person, via email or via a private message on Zulip.
When reporting the event, try to gather as much information as available, but do not interview people about the incident. The committee member will assist you in writing the report/collecting information.
The important information we need consists of:
Identifying information (name) of the participant doing the harassing
The behaviour that was in violation
The approximate time of the behaviour (if different than the time the report was made)
The circumstances surrounding the incident
Other people involved in the incident
The CoC Committee will handle the incident following the Procedure For Handling Reported Misconduct.
If you do feel your safety is in jeopardy, please do not hesitate to contact the Police (in the U.K. by dialling 999). If you do not have a mobile phone, ask a staff member. The U.K. police non-emergency number is 101.
Internal NIU Procedure For Handling Reported Misconduct#
Familiarise yourself with the Code of Conduct and the Procedure for Reporting Harassment.
Try to get as much of the incident in written form (email or via messaging) by the reporter. If you cannot, transcribe it yourself as it was told to you. The important information to gather include the following:
Identifying information (name) of the participant doing the harassing
The behaviour that was in violation
The approximate time of the behaviour (if different than the time the report was made)
The circumstances surrounding the incident
Other people involved in the incident
Prepare an initial response to the incident. This initial response is very important: it will have wide-ranging consequences for the person reporting the incident, how safe others may feel to report other incidents and the general atmosphere and level of engagement of the event. Below are dos/dont’s around the initial response to an incident.
Depending on the severity/details of the incident, please follow these guidelines:
If there is any general threat to attendees or the safety of anyone including workshop staff is in doubt, advise them to contact the local police.
Offer the victim a discussion in a private space.
Ask “is there a friend or trusted person who you would like to be with you?” (if so, ask this person if they can join the conversation).
Ask them “how can I help?”
If everyone is presently physically safe, involve higher authorities (e.g. police or security) only at the victim’s request.
There are also some guidelines as to what not to do as an initial response:
Do not invite them to withdraw the complaint or mention that withdrawal is OK. This suggests that you want them to do so, and is therefore coercive. “If you’re OK with it [pursuing the complaint]” suggests that you are by default pursuing it and is not coercive.
Do not ask for their advice on how to deal with the complaint. This is a staff responsibility.
Do not ask for their input about penalties. This is a staff responsibility.
Once something is reported, at least three members of CoC committee should meet. The main objectives of this meeting are to find out the following:
What happened?
Are we doing anything about it?
Who is doing those things?
When are they doing them?
After the CoC Committee meeting and discussion, have a member (preferably the Head of the NIU) communicate with the alleged harasser. Make sure to inform them of what has been reported about them.
Allow the alleged harasser to give their side of the story to the CoC Committee member. After this point, if the report stands, let the alleged harasser know what actions will be taken against them.
Some things for the CoC Committee to consider when dealing with offenders (note that the list below is not a requirement and only applies if the report deems it necessary):
General participants
Warning the harasser to cease their behaviour and that any further reports will result in sanctions.
Requiring that the harasser avoid any interaction with their victim for the remainder of the event.
Requiring that the harasser immediately leave the event and not return.
If applicable, inform them that we will not honour any travel claims related to their attending the event.
Speakers
Ending a talk that violates the policy early.
Not publishing the video or slides of a talk that violated the policy.
Not allowing a speaker who violated the policy to give (further) talks at the event.
Staff
Calling for the resignation of the harasser from their responsibilities.
The Head of the NIU will identify an appropriate senior individual, independent of the CoC and the persons involved, to conduct the appeal and the accused participant will be informed of the appeal procedure in a timely manner. Keep in mind that it is not a good idea to encourage an apology from the harasser.
It is very important how we deal with the incident publicly. Our policy is to make sure that everyone aware of the initial incident is also made aware that it is not according to policy and that official action has been taken - while still respecting the privacy of individual participants. When speaking to individuals (those who are aware of the incident, but were not involved with the incident) about the incident it is a good idea to keep the details out.
Depending on the incident, the Head of the NIU may decide to make one or more public announcements. If necessary, this will be done with a short announcement either during the plenary and/or through other channels. No one other than the Head of the NIU or someone delegated authority from them should make any announcements.
If some participants were angered by the incident, it is best to apologise to them that the incident occurred to begin with. If there are residual hard feelings, suggest to them to write an email to the event organisers. It will be dealt with accordingly.
Acknowledgement#
This Code of Conduct was adapted from the Collaborations Workshop 2025 participation guidelines, which in turn is adapted from Ada Initiative’s guide titled Conference anti-harassment/Responding to reports.