Ethics & Compliance
How we protect data, people, and independence
Independent monitoring only carries weight if the way the evidence is gathered can withstand the same scrutiny as the evidence itself. This page sets out how Axiom ME protects data, people, and the independence of its findings - in donor due-diligence order.
Last updated · July 2026
01
Data protection
We treat the personal data of respondents, enumerators and clients as a duty of care, not a by-product. Our practices are aligned with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and applied consistently across every jurisdiction in which we operate.
Data minimisation
We collect only the data an assignment genuinely requires. Direct identifiers are avoided wherever the analysis does not need them, and sensitive fields are separated from analytical datasets.
In-country and secure handling
Field data is captured on encrypted devices and synchronised to access-controlled storage. Data is retained only for the contracted purpose and period, then securely deleted or returned to the client.
AI builds the system, never touches your data
We use AI to design tools, structure dashboards and accelerate analysis workflows - not to process client or respondent personal data through third-party models. Your data stays inside Axiom-controlled systems.
Access and transfer controls
Role-based access, audit logging and defined data-transfer protocols govern who can see what, and how data moves between the field, our analysts and the client.
02
Research ethics
Every instrument we field is designed do-no-harm first. Ethical review is built into study design, not bolted on afterwards.
Ethics review
Study designs, sampling frames and instruments are reviewed against a do-no-harm and duty-of-care checklist before deployment, with additional scrutiny for protection-sensitive topics and vulnerable groups.
Informed consent
Respondents are told the purpose of the research, how their information will be used, that participation is voluntary, and that they may decline or stop at any time - before any data is recorded.
Protection of enumerators and respondents
We assess risk to field teams and participants as part of design, and adapt methods to the operating environment. In access-constrained or high-surveillance settings this is delivered through our Protected-Source Monitoring approach.
Anonymity and confidentiality
Identifying details are protected by default; case studies use anonymisation and, where needed, silhouetting. Sensitive findings are held outside the public track record.
03
Safeguarding & PSEA
Axiom ME is committed to protecting the people it works with and for from harm, exploitation and abuse.
Zero tolerance
We maintain a zero-tolerance stance on sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment (PSEA/SH) by any Axiom ME personnel, associate or subcontractor.
Code of conduct
All field personnel are briefed on, and bound by, a safeguarding code of conduct as a condition of deployment, aligned with the IASC PSEA standards.
Reporting and response
Confidential reporting channels are available to staff, enumerators and community members, with survivor-centred referral and response procedures.
Do no harm
Safeguarding considerations are integrated into risk assessment, community entry and data collection so that our presence does not expose participants to risk.
04
Anti-fraud & independence
As a third-party monitor and independent evaluator, our value rests on being demonstrably free of any interest in the results we report.
Independence from implementing partners
Axiom ME does not implement the programmes it monitors or evaluates, and does not accept assignments where doing so would place us in judgment of our own delivery work.
Conflict-of-interest policy
Potential conflicts are declared and screened at bid and assignment stage. Personnel with a personal or financial connection to a subject organisation are recused from that assignment.
Anti-fraud, anti-bribery and anti-corruption
We operate a zero-tolerance policy on fraud, bribery and corruption, and our methods are explicitly designed to detect diversion, ghost beneficiaries and procurement irregularities.
Independent assurance
Axiom ME is independently audited every year, with no single client exceeding 30% of revenue - a structural safeguard of our impartiality.
DRAFT — placeholder policy copy for client review and refinement.
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