H2020 ACCEPT project: D1.5 – Ethics Manual

ACCEPT extends to multiple different geographical and social contexts around Europe, including 4 countries and hundreds of directly involved pilot users. To this end, it is highly important to incorporates ethical aspects in all stages of the research, such as design, development and validation. Confronting these matters at an initial project phase through the definition of a concrete ethics and data management framework will enable the development of innovative technologies while adhering to RRI principles. A multitude of aspects that are adjacent to ethics revolve are analysed in the document, such as data collection, data protection, transparency and privacy. In parallel the national regulatory framework around data management and pilot participant information requirements are laid out. The processes regarding the ACCEPT living lab set-up are described and an initial preview of the cybersecurity provisions is presented. All ethical aspects involved in the community engagement will be followed, including prosumer recruitment with transparency and a strict non-discrimination policy as well as data treatment with the utmost confidentiality. The right to information will be respected as the pilot responsible partners are in charge of analysing the ACCEPT concept to the local stakeholders in the local language and using layman language in order ensure proper understanding. A signed consent form hardcopy will confirm the voluntary participation and acknowledgement of each pilot user. The principles of data minimisation will hedge the risk of non-essential data collection and of accidental exposure of personal data (shadow data). Special attention will be paid to the anonymisation/ pseudonymisation procedures and to an elaborate user management through the proper authentication, authorisation and encryption to guarantee secure access to data. Finally, the deliverable presents the ACCEPT gender equity plan covering both the consortium but also the living lab participants. The equity plan will be further enriched through the course of the project.