Building resilience to, and trying to solve, the world’s most challenging social issues comes with a unique set of ethical challenges. We take seriously our responsibility to act with integrity and the greatest possible transparency.

Having a clearly defined set of values and a code of ethical conduct means everyone who works at Zinc Network is clear about the kinds of projects we deliver, and the way we act in delivering them.

Respecting privacy when researching human behaviour

• When conducting research with individuals and groups, such as focus groups, we respect the agency of those taking part, with participants able to disengage at any stage. 

• We respect people’s right to privacy when we conduct open-source digital research and only report personally identifiable content in specific circumstances: i.e. if there is a threat to the user, or the public’s safety

Supporting everyone working with us

• We respect the agency of individuals, organisations, partners and staff working with us, and fully brief everyone on a project’s objectives.
• We aim to support and protect everyone working on our projects and manage risks accordingly.

Building a network with integrity

• We work only with clients, partners and influencers who want to deal with problems effectively and who support our core values of democracy, free speech and tolerance.
• When creating or co-creating content, we enforce strict accuracy guidelines.

Advancing democratic values

• We are dedicated to advancing free speech, democracy and non-discrimination – values that corrupt and repressive actors consider a threat. We assess each project in terms of effectiveness and ethics, balancing considerations of impact, transparency and the possible dangers to our staff, clients and partners.

We’re a company that balances purpose with profit and we believe that business should be a force for good. Our certification shows that we meet the highest verified standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability.