17877: Race to Extremes? Unpacking Ethical Questions and Dilemmas in Grand Challenge Research

The increasing impact of global challenges such as climate-induced disasters, wars, and refugee movements highlights a world where crises are no longer exceptions but occur simultaneously and interconnectedly. As more OMT scholars focus on grand challenges, extreme contexts, and wicked problems, the need for ethical considerations in researching within these contexts becomes pressing. The inclusive PDW welcomes scholars who are familiar with these contexts as well as scholars embarking on researching them. The PDW aims to interactively reflect on key ethical challenges in researching grand challenges from various perspectives. In an expert panel, five key dimensions will be discussed: 1) the academic impact of studies in terms of publication success versus exploitation of respondents, 2) risks for scholars engaging in extreme contexts, 3) risks for research subjects and involved partners, 4) the responsibilities of the scholarly community regarding “sensationalism”, and 5) risks regarding academic freedom and limitations in autocratic systems. These ethical risks will be further elaborated in interactive and inclusive roundtable sessions. Participants are encouraged to share their experiences in researching grand challenges and self-select to one of the roundtables, each covering one of the outlined dimensions. The lessons learned and practical tips will be shared in the plenary. The PDW aims not only to reflect on ethical challenges emerging from the “race to the extreme” but also to develop impactful practices to address these concerns, fostering exchange between researchers working on extreme contexts and grand challenges and developing innovative directions in the field.