Diversity Statement
The Atrial Fibrillation Competence Network is strongly committed to promoting diversity, inclusion and equality. We are convinced that a diverse and inclusive community not only improves the working environment, but also enriches the quality and scope of our scientific work. In our team, people of different ages, genders and professional backgrounds work closely together. It consists of young talents and experienced experts who work together and combine different perspectives and experiences.
We understand that every employee has individual needs, whether in terms of family planning or caring for family members and pets. That’s why we offer flexible working hours and home office options to support work-life balance. In addition, our studies require international collaboration with partners from all over the world. This global network enables us to integrate different scientific approaches and ensure the relevance of our research on an international level.
We pay particular attention to the consideration of gender-specific differences in our studies. We aim to ensure that our research findings are meaningful and applicable to all genders. As a scientific network, we continuously strive to promote diversity and inclusion in all our activities. This includes not only our internal processes and team collaboration, but also our external research projects and partnerships.
We promote a working environment in which all voices are heard and respected, regardless of ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, or religious beliefs.
Our commitment is to ensure that everyone can develop their skills and talents to the best of their ability.
Compliance, data protection and quality assurance
AFNET is committed to maintaining the highest standards of ethics and ensuring that our work in the field of cardiovascular research is transparent, accountable and legitimate.
We are committed to strict compliance with all relevant national and international anti-corruption laws, including regulations governing the handling of funding. AFNET ensures transparency in all financial transactions and activities. All funding is used in accordance with the provisions of the respective programmes. Regular reports to the members of the association at a general meeting, to the steering committee and to the network’s advisory board, as well as a voluntary annual audit report by an independent auditor, ensure that the use of funds is transparent and correctly documented.
In addition to our commitment to integrity and transparency, AFNET attaches significant importance to the protection of personal data. We strictly comply with all relevant data protection laws, including the DSGVO. Our technical and organisational measures include pseudonymisation and encryption of sensitive data and regular security audits. All AFNET team members receive regular training on data protection issues to ensure the security of data. A qualified employee designated as Data Protection Officer is the person to contact for internal and external data protection enquiries. We protect the privacy and data of our study participants, members, employees and partners.
We also ensure quality, compliance and transparency by adhering to Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), which are defined for all essential AFNET processes and are continuously developed and maintained by an internal quality manager. The AFNET QM team checks compliance with the SOPs internally and, in consultation with the management, commissions external auditors at regular intervals to monitor the quality of AFNET processes and to audit our partners.