Evaluation of a New Case-Processing Model in NEM

In the autumn of 2023, the Norwegian National Committee for Medical and Health Research Ethics (NEM) decided to trial a new model for processing appeal cases: no rapporteur, mandatory tentative assessments from all members ahead of the meetings, and a structured discussion in which everyone first presents arguments for and against possible outcomes before open discussion and the final decision. The report describes the background for the changes (known weaknesses of the rapporteur model and unstructured group discussions), the new model, and the evaluation of the trial from October 2023 to October 2025: the members', chair's and secretariat's experiences, time use, engagement, decision types, dissents, changes from tentative to final assessments, agreement before and after discussion (Krippendorff's alpha 0.159 before the meeting, 0.627 after) and self-assessed certainty. The committee recommends that the main features of the model be continued, with some adjustments.

This is the English edition (translation) of the Norwegian report, which was prepared by Jan-Ole Hesselberg on commission from NEM and delivered on 20 November 2025. Interactive web edition: https://johes.no/en/reports/nem-case-processing