Peer Review Committee Membership Policy

This is the Membership Policy of the Digital Square Peer Review Committee. The Membership Policy of the Digital Square Peer Review Committee has been approved by the Board. Any substantive changes to the policies require board approval.

Purpose

The purpose of this Digital Square Peer Review Committee Membership Policy is to delineate the criteria for membership on the Peer Review Committee of Digital Square. This Policy also describes the process with which each Peer Review Committee Member must comply to address conflicts of interest. Additionally, this Policy includes information on the composition of the PRC, the roles and responsibilities of PRC Members, an overview of the process for evaluation of applications submitted to Digital Square, commitment level expectations and collaboration requirements of PRC Members, and other membership terms for the Peer Review Committee.

Roles and Responsibilities of the Peer Review Committee

The PRC plays a critical role as technical experts in assessing the technical and programmatic appropriateness of submitted concept notes and applications in response to Notices. The PRC provides feedback on applications, which helps the Board to prioritize investments in high-quality digital health products and services. The PRC is not a governing body, and its recommendations are non-binding on the Board.

Each PRC Member is encouraged to be an advocate for Digital Square and promote, as appropriate, participation and engagement in response to Notices. PRC Members are also encouraged to offer feedback on concept notes and applications during the Concept Note Review and Application Co-creation steps of the OAP.

PRC Members are required to review submitted applications against Digital Square’s articulated prioritization framework. Applications receiving high scores from the PRC will be evaluated, and recommendations made to the Board, by Digital Square. Such recommendations will be based on funding round objectives, donor priorities, and Digital Square’s vision. The Board will make final decisions on allocation and funding of applications. In some cases, the donor will determine funding of applications.

To facilitate the review of applications, Digital Square will assign applications to PRC Members for review. For each application, a PRC Member must submit his or her feedback, using the Digital Square Feedback Form, on each of the categories described in the Digital Square’s Prioritization Framework, including impact, cost, technology, and probability of success. In addition, the PRC Member must assign green-, amber-, or red-lit status on each application. A green-lit application meets all criteria for selection for investment described in the applicable Notice, including demonstrating that such global good aligns with country priorities, can be adapted to different countries and contexts, and will scale easily across countries. An amber-lit application meets at least one of the criteria for selection for investment as described in the applicable Notice, but a potential risk has been identified and will need to be addressed by the submitter of the application. A red-lit application does not meet any of the criteria for investment described in the applicable Notice, or there is high-risk identified in the submitter’s ability to meet the objectives.

Composition

The PRC comprises a diverse set of the foremost leaders and thinkers in digital health technology including individuals from country governments, donor organizations, implementing organizations, technology vendors, and other constituencies. The PRC does not have a limit on the number of Members.

Digital Square’s goal is for the PRC to be made up of a group of well-rounded members with technical expertise, experience implementing global goods with governments, health workers and clients in countries, and/or individuals who serve as investors in global digital health including global goods. PRC Members must meet the following membership criteria:

  • Be recognized as an expert in global health informatics, information technology, software development, and/or interoperability.
  • Have expertise in regional and global digital health systems.
  • Be willing to comply with required participation requirements as described in this policy.

Commitment and Collaboration

The success of cocreation and collaboration for Notices through the Open Application Process (OAP) platform is dependent on active participation of PRC Members and adherence to the expectations outlined in this policy. PRC Members must comply with the roles and responsibilities outlined in this Policy and the Agreement for the Digital Square Peer Review Committee.

Each PRC Member must make him or herself available and commit his or her time to participating in the OAP, including reviewing and scoring all applications assigned. Digital Square will provide additional details on the number of expected applications that each PRC Member will be asked to review for each Notice.

During the PRC Review step of the Review and Investment Phase, as described in Attachment A, each PRC Member commits to reviewing, providing feedback, and scoring applications assigned to such PRC Member, using the Digital Square Feedback Form designated and by the deadline provided by Digital Square. While it may vary for each Notice, it is anticipated that each Notice period will occur over a three to four-month time frame. PRC Members are required to spend two to five business days reviewing and providing feedback on applications. Additionally, Digital Square may request PRC Members to attend ad hoc meetings, participate in reading days, and engage in virtual communications as needed.

PRC Members are requested to advocate for Digital Square and promote Notice announcements among their networks. PRC Members should be willing to engage in discussion of ideas and dialogue with persons who submit concept notes and applications through the OAP platform and must share honest and unbiased feedback of assigned applications with Digital Square.

Finally, PRC Members must demonstrate the ability, commitment, and enthusiasm to act as an ambassador and advocate for the Principles for Digital Development as articulated at https://digitalprinciples.org/. The Principles for Digital Development are a set of living guidance principles intended to help individuals at organizations leading or working in digital development succeed in applying digital technologies to information and communications technology (ICT) development programs. In accordance with their respective roles in the digital health community, PRC Members will act in good faith to further the best interests of the development of digital health global goods.

Term

Term Length

There is no maximum term length for PRC membership. However, each PRC Member should plan to participate for a minimum of one (1) year to ensure continuity of the PRC and each Peer Review Committee Membership Agreement is for a period of one (1) year only. PRC membership will be reviewed on an annual basis. Peer Review Committee Membership Agreements may be updated annually, as appropriate, to correspond with changes in the member organization or this Policy.

Termination

The Peer Review Committee Membership Agreement may terminated by PATH (a) immediately upon written notice for any failure to report a conflict of interest or failure to participate in two (2) consecutive Notice application review processes; or (b) immediately upon written notice for any other breach by Peer Review Committee Member of the Agreement that is not cured within thirty (30) days.

Resignation

A PRC Member may resign by providing at least thirty (30) business days’ written notice to the Digital Square contacts.

Conflict of Interest and Recusal Policy

Conflicts of interest of varying degrees of significance or nature may arise in the conduct of the PRC’s operations. A conflict of interest in and of itself is not wrong and may not be unethical, but those involved in the review process for applications submitted in response to Notices must take appropriate action to ensure disclosure of any actual, perceived, or potential conflicts of interest. The purpose of the conflict of interest and recusal policy is to protect the integrity and reputation of the PRC’s review and recommendation-making processes, particularly as such review and recommendations of the PRC may result in the allocation of resources. The conflicts of interest and recusal policy establishes procedures to identify, evaluate, and address any actual, perceived, or potential conflicts that may arise, and all PRC Members must comply with such procedures and the conflict of interest and recusal policy. As a basic principle, such conflicts must be resolved in the favor of Digital Square.

Definitions

PRC Member(s): An individual with digital health, global health, health informatics, and/or health policy expertise.

Family member(s): A PRC Member’s grandparents, parents/guardians, spouse/domestic partner, siblings, children/dependents, and/or grandchildren.

Conflict of interest: A situation where a PRC Member has an actual, perceived, or potential organizational or financial/personal interest, as defined below, that may:

  • Affect the conduct of his/her duties and responsibilities with respect to Digital Square.
  • Create the perception that the PRC Member is using his/her position in Digital Square for organizational or personal financial gain at the expense of Digital Square.

Organizational interest: An organizational interest arises when a PRC Member is an officer, director, trustee, partner, or (negotiating to become) an employee of an entity that may benefit financially from an application on which he/she would make a recommendation. Financial/personal interest: A PRC Member has a financial/personal interest when he/she or any family member may benefit financially or in any other significant way from a transaction or other financial arrangement between Digital Square and an entity with which the PRC Member has:

  • An ownership or investment interest.
  • A senior leadership or board member position (whether paid or unpaid).
  • A direct or indirect compensation arrangement, including through a business, investment, or family member, or in the form of substantial gifts or favors.
  • A potential in securing any of the above.

Conflict of interest established

PRC Members will not use their position of influence to secure any financial gain for themselves, their family members, or the organizations with which they are affiliated. There are several possibilities for determining whether an actual, perceived, or potential conflict exists:

  • A PRC Member discloses that he/she has an actual, perceived, or potential conflict.
  • The Chair determines an actual, perceived, or potential conflict exists.
  • The PRC determines an actual, perceived, or potential conflict exists.
  • The Board of Digital Square determines an actual, perceived, or potential conflict exists.

Categories of interest

Interests can generally be categorized according to the following types:

  • Direct: A direct interest in any PRC recommendation may be established when a PRC Member directly benefits from such a recommendation through an organizational or personal/financial interest.
  • Indirect: An indirect interest in any PRC recommendation may be established when a PRC Member indirectly benefits from such a recommendation through an organizational or financial/personal interest.

Duty to disclose

A PRC Member must disclose organizational and/or financial/personal interests and the nature of such interest when he/she becomes aware that a conflict exists, could be perceived to exist, or is likely to occur through the Conflict of Interest Disclosure Form.

Recusal

Should a PRC Member disclose an actual, perceived, or potential conflict of interest relevant to a Board decision, he or she will recuse him or herself from the Notice application review process. Should an actual, perceived, or potential conflict of interest apply to the Chairperson during the course of the review of applications in response to a given Notice, the Chairperson will disclose the conflict, recuse him or herself, and appoint a temporary Chairperson to call for the Board to vote to appoint a new PRC Chairperson for the relevant Notice.

Failure to disclose

Failure to disclose a conflict of interest or disputes over whether a conflict exists may be referred to the PRC for resolution. Failure to disclose a personal or financial interest by a PRC Member will invalidate any relevant Notice application reviews and may result in immediate dismissal from the PRC. Should any PRC Member have reasonable cause to believe that another PRC Member has failed to disclose an actual, perceived, or potential conflict of interest, he or she will inform the Chairperson. The PRC Member will have an opportunity to explain the alleged failure to disclose. The reporting PRC Member should have reasonable grounds for suspecting a violation and must only make such a report in good faith. Knowingly reporting false or frivolous information is contrary to this Policy.

Membership

All seats on the PRC are allocated to individuals who are experts in digital health. Membership is confirmed via membership agreements between the individual member and PATH.

Member Selection Process

The Digital Square Contacts maintain oversight of the inclusion of new members to the PRC. Digital Square seeks to maintain a balance of expert peers who possess technical and implementation experience in digital health information systems, as well as leaders in advocacy and policy in digital health. Digital Square may recruit members to the PRC to ensure equity, balance, and diversification of the PRC; however, individuals can also apply to join the PRC. Should an individual wish to apply to be a member of the PRC, he or she must complete a PRC application form, available upon request, which will be reviewed by the Digital Square Contacts. Applicants will be notified within three weeks of completing the PRC application form as to whether they are accepted to the PRC. For more information about how to join the PRC and to request an application form, please contact the Digital Square Partnerships & Community Engagement Manager at digitalsquare@path.org.

Digital Square Contacts

The Digital Square Contacts are as follows:

  • Carl Fourie, PRC Chairperson and Deputy Director of Global Goods, cfourie@path.org.
  • Vrunda Rathod, Digital Square Partnerships & Community Engagement Manager, varthod@path.org.
  • Ryan Heidenreich, Project Administrator, rheidenreich@path.org.
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