METAs
Conflict of Interest Policy.
Context
The METAs Jury and METAs Committee (METAC) are comprised of professional theatre practitioners who volunteer their time to serve the METAs. As with all peer-juried awards (particularly in this tightly-woven community), it is virtually impossible to recruit jurors or committee members who will not at some point be involved with a registered company or one of its productions — they may end up being nominated or even receiving a META.
The METAs' Conflict of Interest Policy seeks to ensure that the awards process is as objective as possible: that jurors and the METAC can serve in their roles without feeling conflicted, and that the reputation and integrity of the METAs does not suffer from apparent conflicts of interest.
Application
This Policy applies to members of the METAs Jury and METAs Committee (METAC).
All conflicts of interest as defined in this article shall be disclosed to the METAC with due diligence.
Questions about the definition of a perceived conflict shall be addressed to the METAC for consideration.
Failure to declare a conflict of interest could result in removal from the Jury or the METAC.
Definitions
Company COI: Staff position or full-time employment with a registered company for the entire season, including: ADs, GMs, senior staff, board members, and full-time payroll employees; excluding: part-time staff, telemarketers, stage managers engaged for a specific production, and other short-term employees.
Production COI: Involvement in a registered production, including: directors, designers, dramaturgs, performers, stage management, assistants, and production personnel; excluding: consultants, coaches or anyone whose involvement was negligible, as well as technicians hired by a non-producing venue.
Personal COI: Personal relationship with someone involved in a registered company (AD, GM, or senior staff) or production, including: spouse/partner, or direct family member (parent, child, sibling); excluding: friends and co-workers that are not any of the above.
Code of Conduct and Restrictions: Company COI
Evaluation Forms: Jurors will not submit online evaluations for productions produced by the company for which they work.
Quarterly Meetings: Jurors and METAC members will leave the room before any discussion of a production produced by that company.
Final Vote: Jurors with a Company COI will receive a customized ballot, with categories voided where the nominees include a production (i.e. Outstanding Production – PACT and/or Indie) produced by the juror's conflicting company. Jurors will still vote in all other categories, even if they feature individuals from productions produced by the juror's conflicting company.
Code of Conduct and Restrictions: Production COI
Evaluation Forms: Jurors will not submit online evaluations for productions on which they worked.
Quarterly Meetings: Jurors and METAC members will leave the room before any discussion of a production on which they worked.
Final Vote: Jurors with a Production COI will receive a customized ballot, with categories voided where the nominees include the juror themselves. Jurors will still vote in all other categories, including those featuring productions on which, or people with whom, they worked.
Code of Conduct and Restrictions: Personal COI
Evaluation Forms: Jurors will submit online evaluations for productions on which their partner/family member worked.
Quarterly Meetings: Jurors and METAC members will leave the room only when their partner / family member is discussed (e.g. a juror whose partner is acting in a production can discuss direction, production, and design elements, but will leave the room before discussion of cast).
Final Vote: No restrictions.