Isadora Duncan Awards Committee Conflict of Interest Policy

The language for the Statement of Purpose and the Definition of Conflict of Interest is drawn from the Payne Awards for Ethics in Journalism Policy and from the University of Delaware Faculty Senate Committee on Student and Faculty Honors.

Statement of Purpose

The integrity of the Isadora Duncan Awards requires that committee members make every effort to avoid conflicts of interest and the public perception of conflicts of interest.

Given the committee’s involvement in the San Francisco Bay Area dance community, it is unrealistic to expect that any committee member will not know some of the nominees or have relationships with some of the nominated organizations. Real and perceived conflicts of interest are therefore inevitable. The committee’s task is to minimize any possibility of their affecting the awards process, either in fact or public perception. The committee can minimize that possibility by (a) making all potential conflicts known within the committee, (b) following procedures designed to minimize the operation of any conflicts of interest in the awards nomination and voting process, and (c) making those operating procedures generally known.

Definition of Conflict of Interest

A conflict of interest is any artistic, financial, or personal relationship with a nominated organization or individual that would prevent a Committee member from offering an unbiased evaluation or reaching an unbiased decision on the merits of the nomination; or, any relationship that has a strong likelihood to lead nominees or the public to perceive that a Committee member has a conflict of interest that would undermine the credibility of the Awards process.

Guidelines

The Isadora Duncan Awards divides potential conflict of interest situations into two categories:

1. A conflict of interest that disqualifies a nominated work from winning an award

OR

2. A conflict of interest that disqualifies a Committee member from voting in a given nominated category.

1. A conflict of interest that disqualifies a nominated work from winning an award
A nominated work must be disqualified from winning an Isadora Duncan Award if a current Committee member contributed directly to the artistic authorship of the work in the category for which the nomination was made.  For example, if a Committee member choreographs a work, and that work is nominated for a choreography award, the nominated work is automatically disqualified from winning an award.  If however, a Committee member choreographs a work, and the work is nominated for visual design, if the Committee member who choreographed the work did not contribute directly to the artistic authorship of the work’s visual design, the work may be considered for an award but the Committee member who choreographed it may not vote or participate in discussion of the work in question.  [Note: for the purposes of this policy, dancers may be said to hold artistic authorship over the quality of their performances.]

2. A conflict of interest that disqualifies a Committee member from voting in a given nominated category
Committee members have a responsibility to disclose to the Isadora Duncan Awards Committee any personal, financial, or professional interest in any nominee being considered for an award. In the event of a conflict of interest, or the appearance of a conflict of interest, the Committee member in question should recuse him or herself from voting in a given nominated category.

Committee members should be aware of the following compromising situations:

• The Committee member has been directly involved in the production or review of the artistic output of the nominee.
• The Committee member has a close personal relationship with the nominee (family member, domestic partner, boyfriend/girlfriend, mentor/mentee, teacher/student).
• The Committee member is currently directly employed by or is being considered for employment by the nominee or nominated group.
• The Committee member could benefit from the decision financially or personally.
• The Committee member feels a strong sense of personal obligation, competition, or enmity toward the nominee or the nominee’s work.

The above examples have been adapted from the College Art Association’s Conflict of Interest Policy.

Note:  The Committee draws a distinction between a personal financial interest and an organizational financial interest. For example, if a Committee Member were employed by an organization that presented work, this would not automatically constitute a conflict of interest with the group or artists being presented.  (unless the organization were involved in the creative or artistic aspects of the nominated work).  However, if a Committee Member were paid directly by a nominated artist or group for contracted services, this would constitute a personal financial conflict of interest.