Member Whistleblower Policy

Policy

AIAA is committed to maintaining an atmosphere where members are free to raise good-faith concerns regarding AIAA’s business practices and the processes followed by any member or AIAA staff, specifically: (1) reporting suspected violations of law on the part of AIAA, including but not limited to federal laws and regulations; (2) providing truthful information in connection with an inquiry or investigation by a court, agency, law enforcement, or other governmental body; and (3)identifying potential violations of AIAA policy.

Purpose

The purpose of this Policy is to provide a mechanism for members to raise good-faith concerns regarding suspected violations of law on the part of AIAA, to cooperate in an inquiry or investigation by a court, agency, law enforcement, or other governmental body, or to identify potential violations of AIAA policy; and to prohibit retaliation against members who take such actions.

Process

All AIAA members are overseers of the integrity of the Institute. As such, it is the responsibility of a member having knowledge of a suspected violation of law or of AIAA policy, or of unauthorized or inappropriate conduct, to report such activity confidentially to his/her committee chair or a member of the Board of Directors appropriate to his/her committee assignment or regional location or to the AIAA Policy Ombudsman (a volunteer appointed by the AIAA President). If the committee chair or Board member receives the report, then that person is responsible for either personally taking appropriate corrective action (to the satisfaction of the member making the complaint) or for relaying the report, in confidence, to the AIAA Policy Ombudsman. The Policy Ombudsman (or other complaint recipient, as identified above) will not divulge the identity of the complainant if so requested.

Anonymous Reports

Any person may make an anonymous report. However, it should be understood that any investigation may be hampered or impractical if the reporting person cannot be identified and questioned about the allegations and related facts. As described above, all reports, including those made anonymously, must be substantiated by evidence that inappropriate conduct has occurred.

Retaliation

AIAA expressly prohibits any form of retaliation, including harassment, intimidation, adverse actions, or any other form of retaliation, against members who raise suspected violations of law, cooperate in inquiries or investigations, or identify potential violations of AIAA policies. Any member who engages in retaliation will be subject to discipline, up to and including forfeiture of membership.

Presumption of Innocence

There will be a presumption of innocence with respect to any person implicated in a suspected violation or retaliation, and AIAA shall take steps to avoid unnecessary disclosure of allegations prior to the conclusion of an investigation so as not to unfairly harm the reputation of any person.