Guiding Principles for Research and Communication of Results

Dairy Management Inc. (DMI) and National Dairy Council (NDC) guiding principles for research and communication of results

 

Scientific Integrity

  • Pursue research on behalf of the dairy community to ensure quality and safety of dairy products, stimulate new product and ingredient innovation, better understand the role of dairy foods in healthy, sustainable eating patterns and support continuous environmental improvement that enables mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions and improvements in water quality and water use efficiency.
  • Administer research grants through a competitive process that engages the expertise of external scientists to evaluate grant proposals.
  • Adhere rigorously to accepted scientific principles, methods and conduct to guide study design, execution, data analysis, interpretation and presentation of results. Furthermore, DMI and NDC require academic independence in the design, implementation, analysis, interpretation and ability to report and publish all findings of any sponsored research.
  • Research will be conducted in accordance with applicable laws and regulations for proper treatment of research subjects, animals and materials, including review and approval of human and animal study protocols by accredited and appropriate institutional review boards.

Transparency

  • Disclose freely when DMI and/or NDC is a funding source or sponsor of research in all types of publications.
  • Results from DMI- and/or NDC-funded research will be made publicly available through publication in reputable peer-reviewed scientific journals, abstracts at scientific meetings and presentations to professionals. Once the research is published, results will also be communicated in ways that are truthful and not misleading to non-scientist audiences. Communication in these ways is encouraged for all research findings.
  • Subject all DMI and NDC scientific research to USDA review and oversight as described in The Dairy Promotion Stabilization Act of 1983m 7 U.S.C. 4501 et seq.

Public-Private Partnerships

  • DMI and NDC recognize the value of public-private partnerships to advance scientific research.
    • NDC commits to the Institute for the Advancement of Food Nutrition Sciences (IAFNS) Assembly on Scientific Integrity’s Guiding Principles for Funding Food Science and Nutrition Research. Additionally, our guiding principles are further informed by the Interagency Committee on Human Nutrition Research, which emphasize honest communication, unbiased project selection, transparency, accountability, mutual trust and cooperation.

Note: DMI and NDC review these guiding principles annually to ensure they remain relevant, appropriate and useful.