Advancing good governance in data sharing and biobanking - international aspects

Ethical and effective data-sharing among countries can be achieved by considering the interests of all relevant parties: research participants, researchers and funders. Fears of exploitation, however, both of research participants and researchers from low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), can undermine the free flow of data necessary for scientific advancement. In this Open Letter, two case studies presented at the 2018 Global Forum on Bioethics in Research meeting on the Ethics of data sharing and biobanking in Cape Town, South Africa, function as the focal point for a reflection on the attributes of an ideal model of good data governance and how it can help support ethical best practices in biobanking and data sharing. Consideration of the case studies as well as the literature indicate three broad principles that need to be reflected in an ideal data governance framework: (i) collaboration - both among researchers as well as between researchers and participants, (ii) fairness – ensuring that all parties in international collaborations, the data provider, primary data gathering LMIC researcher and the high income country (HIC) institution/funder are treated fairly, and (iii) working towards a level playing field – neither collaboration nor fairness can be effectively achieved with the existing power differential between HIC and LMIC researchers/institutions; it is therefore necessary to work towards achieving a more level playing field between partners in research collaborations. Promoting good governance of data through fair, efficient and accountable governance frameworks can help build trust and ensure continued international data sharing.