The McCoy Family Center for Ethics in Society’s Ethics & Society Review (ESR) was created in 2020 by Michael Bernstein, Margaret Levi, David Magnus, and Debra Satz at Stanford University with the explicit goal of helping researchers consider and mitigate the ethical and societal risks posed by their research, beyond those covered by an Institutional Review Board (IRB).

Why ESR Exists

Whether research diffuses into society through technological adoption, through field experiments, or through policy, researchers must reflect on how to identify and mitigate the risks that use of their work could mean to human society. Research ethics review often focuses on risks to human subjects, not risks to human society, placing societal risks out of scope and out of jurisdiction. In the United States, ethics review is associated with Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) and is governed by the Common Rule. The Common Rule gives IRBs jurisdiction over risks to human subjects, who are the individuals directly engaged or studied
 in the research. However, the Common Rule governing IRBs specifically disallows review of consequences to human society:

The IRB should not consider possible long-range effects of applying knowledge gained in the research […] as among those research risks that fall within the purview of its responsibility.

Common Rule 2018, §46.111

This regulation is generally interpreted to mean that IRBs should decline to review research risks to human society, but these risks still exist. The Ethics & Society Review was created with the explicit goal of helping researchers consider and mitigate the ethical and societal risks posed by their research beyond those covered by an Institutional Review Board (IRB). To achieve this goal, the ESR works with internal funding organizations at Stanford University to conduct an ethical reflection process as part of the grant process (see ESR Process & Toolkit for more information). Additionally, all Ethics & Society Review materials, including the ESR Toolkit and peer-reviewed research, are available on our website.

The ESR doesn’t tell researchers what to do, it coaches them

The Ethics & Society Review believes researchers have a responsibility to mitigate the foreseeable broader societal risks associated with their research. At the same time, no one knows a researcher’s project better than they do. Learn more about our process.

Leadership
Michael Bernstein Associate Professor
of Computer Science
Margaret Levi Professor of Political Science, Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and at the Woods Institute for the Environment
David Magnus Thomas A. Raffin Professor of Medicine and Biomedical Ethics, Professor of Pediatrics and Medicine, and by courtesy Professor of Bioengineering
Debra Satz Vernon R. and Lysbeth Warren Anderson Dean of the School of H&S, Marta Sutton Weeks Professor of Ethics in Society, and by courtesy Professor of Political Science
Leif Wenar Olive H. Palmer Professor of Humanities, Professor of Philosophy, Professor of Law (by courtesy), Senior Fellow at Woods Institute for the Environment, Faculty Director at the McCoy Family Center for Ethics in Society
ESR Staff & Research Affiliates
Betsy A. Rajala Program Director for the Ethics & Society Review
Quinn Waeiss Postdoctoral Scholar, Center for Biomedical Ethics
Raio Huang 2024-25 Research Associate with the Technology Ethics & Policy Rising Scholars Program at the McCoy Family Center for Ethics in Society
Current & Former Panelists
Gautam Akiwate Postdoctoral Scholar, Computer Science
Daniel Akselrad PhD Student, Journalism, Media, and Culture
Rishi Bommasani Ph.D. Student, Computer Science
Abdoul Jalil Djiberou Mahamadou Postdoctoral Scholar, Center for Biomedical Ethics
Jane E Postdoctoral Scholar, Computer Science
Carole Federico Postdoctoral Scholar at Stanford’s Center for Biomedical Ethics
Brandy Fox Postdoctoral Scholar, Center for Biomedical Ethics
Dan Friedman Ph.D. Student, Philosophy
Neel Guha J.D.-Ph.D. Student, Computer Science
Wanheng Hu Postdoctoral Scholar, McCoy Family Center for Ethics in Society
Raio Huang 2024-25 Research Associate with the Technology Ethics & Policy Rising Scholars Program at the McCoy Family Center for Ethics in Society
Liz Izhikevich Ph.D. Candidate, Computer Science
Ashlyn Jaeger Director of Ethics, Society, and Technology Initiatives at the McCoy Family Center for Ethics in Society
Ting-An Lin Postdoctoral Scholar, Philosophy
Chenery Lowe Postdoctoral Scholar, Center for Biomedical Ethics
Anne Newman Executive Director of the McCoy Family Center for Ethics in Society
Madelena Ng Postdoctoral Scholar, Biomedical Informatics
Juan Pava 2024-25 Research Associate with the Technology Ethics & Policy Rising Scholars Program at the McCoy Family Center for Ethics in Society
Betsy A. Rajala Program Director for the Ethics & Society Review
Veronica Rivera Postdoctoral Scholar, Philosophy
Ahmad Rushdi Senior Research Manager at Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI
Stefan Stojanov Postdoctoral Scholar, Computer Science
Ann C. Thresher Interdisciplinary Ethics Fellow at Doerr School of Sustainability
Artem Trotsyuk Postdoctoral Scholar, Center for Biomedical Ethics
César Valenzuela PhD Student, Philosohpy
Jonathan Vanderburgh Postdoctoral Scholar, McCoy Family Center for Ethics in Society
Ellie Vela Master’s Student, Computer Science
Quinn Waeiss Postdoctoral Scholar, Center for Biomedical Ethics
Angelina Wang Postdoctoral Scholar, Computer Science
Elliot Weiss Ph.D. Student, Mechanical Engineering
Shameeka Wilson Ph.D. Student, Education
Kaitlyn Zhou Ph.D. Student, Computer Science
Daniel Zimmer Lecturer for Civic, Liberal, and Global Education (COLLEGE)

Collaborators

FAQ

Below are answers to some of our most commonly asked questions. If you don’t see your question listed here, feel free to contact the Betsy Rajala, ESR program director, at Betsy.Rajala@stanford.edu.

What should I expect when the ESR reviews my project?
For researchers submitting a proposal to funding organizations that incorporate the ESR in their grant process, they will first submit a brief ESR statement alongside their grant proposals. After the funding program conducts its grant merit review, it sends only the grants recommended for funding to the ESR for ethics review. Over one to two weeks, an ESR faculty panel engages in iterative feedback to the researchers. PIs submit written responses to the ESR feedback as addenda to their original statement. These addenda can include replies to the panel’s feedback as well as commitments to specific mitigation strategies. When the process is complete, the ESR submits its recommendation to the funding program, and funds are released to the researchers.
Are ESR project reviews confidential?
Yes, all of our consultations and reviews are confidential. The ESR will not share any aspects of a project’s review results, unless given explicit permission by the project team.
Who is the Ethics & Society Review available to?
The ESR is currently available to Stanford University organizations and personnel.
How do I become an ESR panelist?
If you are interested and are a current postdoctoral fellow or faculty member at Stanford University, please contact Betsy.Rajala@stanford.edu. ESR panelists need to complete a short training session and calibration exercise before participating in reviews.
What should I do if I want to incorporate the ESR process into my organization’s grantmaking?
We suggest you begin by looking at our ESR Process & Toolkit section of the website and fill out the applicable form. After that our team will reach out to discuss potential next steps.