Terms of Service - Collaboratory

Collaboratory Terms and Conditions of Use

Collaboratory is an initiative of the World Health Organization Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence (“WHO”) with a digital environment where the pandemic and epidemic intelligence community and communities of practice can convene to address critical challenges that affect the way data is accessed, analysed, visualized, and communicated for better pandemic and epidemic policy and response decision making.

Unless stated otherwise, all terms apply across the entire Collaboratory Digital Environment.

I. User Identity and Access Management

Access to the Collaboratory digital environment is limited to registered Users (“You”) normally representing practitioners in the pandemic and epidemic intelligence area.

You must create and log into your user account to use some features of the Collaboratory digital environment. To create an account, You must provide some information about yourself.

You must be at least thirteen (13) years old to use any component of the Collaboratory digital environment. If WHO learns that You are under the age of 13, WHO will terminate Your User Account immediately.
If You create an account, You agree to provide, at a minimum, a valid e-mail address, and to keep that address up-to-date.
You agree to be responsible for all actions taken using your account, whether authorized by You or not, until You either close your account or notify WHO that your account has been compromised.
You agree to notify WHO by e-mailing collaboratory@who.int immediately if You suspect your account has been compromised.
You agree to select a secure password for your account and keep it secret.

You may close your account at any time by sending a request to collaboratory@who.int.

II. Digital Environment

Access to Collaboratory Digital Environment (“the Digital Environment”) is limited to registered Users (“You”) normally representing practitioners in the pandemic and epidemic intelligence area. The Digital Environment consists of (a)webpages that help to navigate the Digital Environment, (b) a digital space for Communities of Practice via thematically organized discussion boards and (c) platform for hosting code repositories via Github. Unless otherwise stated, the following sections apply to all elements of the Digital Environment.

You must log into your User account to use the features of the Digital Environment.

II.A. Your Permissions to Use the Digital Environment

Subject to these terms, WHO gives You permission to use the Digital Environment. Everyone needs to agree to these terms to use the Digital Environment. By registering to Collaboratory, You accept and agree to these terms and conditions of use with WHO. Your access to the Digital Environment may be revoked at any time, at the discretion of WHO.

II.B. Acceptable Use of the Digital Environment

The following section outlines the Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) for use of resources in the Digital Environment to ensure the security, reliability, and privacy of Collaboratory digital environment resources and users’ data. This Acceptable Use Policy applies to all digital activities undertaken by You while using the Digital Environment and its resources.

II.B.1. Compliance with Laws and Regulations

You may not break any applicable laws, including copyright or trademark laws, export control or sanctions laws, or other laws in your jurisdiction.
You are responsible for using the Digital Environment in compliance with all applicable laws, regulations, and this Acceptable Use Policy.

II.B.2. User Protection and Safety

WHO collects personal information about You linked to the use of the Digital Environment such as, but not limited to username, email address and user activity. WHO reserves the right to use this information internally, including but not limited to research purposes, quality assurance and correspondence with You as per The World Health Organization’s Personal Data Protection Policy.

You may not engage in unlawful and/or illegal activities in the Digital Environment.
You may not use the Digital Environment for unauthorized commercial activities. You may not buy, sell, or otherwise trade in User names or other unique identifiers on the Digital Environment.
You may not attempt to access User data or accounts in the Digital Environment for which you do not have authorization.
You may not misuse personal information of any user of the Digital Environment. If You collect any personal information from the Digital Environment, You agree that You will only use that personal information for the purpose for which that User has authorized it. You agree that You will reasonably secure any personal information You have gathered from the Digital Environment, and You will respond promptly to complaints, removal requests and “do not contact” from WHO or other Users.
You may not send advertisements, chain letters, or other solicitations through the Digital Environment, or use the Digital Environment to gather addresses or other personal data for commercial mailing lists or databases.
You may not use the Digital Environment to send e-mail to distribution lists, newsgroups, or group mail aliases.
You may not disable, avoid, or circumvent any security or access restrictions of the Digital Environment.
You may not automate access to the Digital Environment, or monitor the Digital Environment, such as with a web crawler, browser plug-in or add-on, or other computer program that is not a web browser.
You may not engage in activity that significantly harms other Users.
You may not encourage or help anyone in violation of these terms.

II.B.3. Intellectual Property, Authenticity, and Private Information

WHO exercises copyright over its information to make sure that it is used in accordance with the Organization’s principles. Extracts of WHO information can be used for private study or for educational purposes without permission. Wider use requires permission to be obtained from WHO.

All contributions shared in the Digital Environment, including multimedia, data sets, models, and unpublished research, are the intellectual property of their respective authors unless otherwise stated.

The appearance of data in the Digital Environment does not imply that the data is free to use for all purposes.

You are responsible for communicating the license and authorship information attached to any data that You share in the Digital Environment.
You may not infringe any proprietary right of any party, including patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright, right of publicity, or other right
You may not remove any marks showing proprietary ownership from materials You download from and/or screenshot in the Digital Environment.
You may not misrepresent your identity or your association with another person or organization in the Digital Environment.
You may not falsely imply in the Digital Environment that You are endorsed by WHO or any other organization.
You may not use or try to use another’s User account in the Digital Environment without their specific permission.
You may not violate the privacy of any third party, such as by posting another person’s personal information shared in the Digital Environment without consent.

II.B.4. Spam and Inauthentic Activity

You may not use the Digital Environment for automated excessive bulk activity and coordinated inauthentic activity, such as spamming and/or solicitation.
You may not use the Digital Environment for any form of excessive automated bulk activity, to place undue burden on WHO infrastructure through automated means, or to relay any form of unsolicited advertising or solicitation through WHO infrastructure.
You may not use the Digital Environment for inauthentic interactions, such as fake accounts and automated inauthentic activity.
You may not engage in phishing or attempted phishing.

II.B.5. Site Access and Safety

All or any portion of the Digital Environment may not be available and may not function properly at any time. WHO makes reasonable efforts to avoid technological problems, but at any time the Digital Environment may have and may cause technological problems such as viruses and other damaging computer programming routines or engines. WHO takes reasonable security precautions but WHO disclaims liability for any interception of data.

WHO makes reasonable efforts to ensure that the Digital Environment is secure, but WHO does not guarantee its security. WHO is not responsible for any damage or injury caused by the performance or failure of performance of all or any portion of the Digital Environment. WHO is not liable for any defects, delays or errors in or resulting from your use of the Digital Environment.

You may not show any part of the Digital Environment on other websites with iframe.
You may not strain the infrastructure of the Digital Environment with an unreasonable volume of requests, or requests designed to impose an unreasonable load on information systems underlying the Digital Environment.
You may not support unlawful active attacks or malware campaigns that are causing technical harms such as using the Digital Environment to deliver malicious executables or as attack infrastructure, for example by organizing denial of service attacks or managing command and control servers.
You may not use WHO servers to disrupt or to attempt to disrupt, or to gain or to attempt to gain unauthorized access to, any service, device, data, account or network.

II.C. Content standards of the Digital Environment

Nothing in these terms gives WHO any ownership rights in intellectual property that You share with the Digital Environment, such as Your account and user profile information, data, code snippets, documents in posts, or any other content You submit to the Digital Environment.

Nothing in these terms gives You any ownership rights in the WHO’s intellectual property, either.

Between You and WHO, You remain solely responsible for content You submit to the Digital Environment. You own content You create, but You allow WHO certain rights to it, so that WHO can display and share the content You post. You still have control over Your content, and responsibility for it, and the rights You grant WHO are limited to those WHO needs to provide the service of the Digital Environment.

When content You submit is removed from the Digital Environment, whether by You or by WHO, WHO’s special license ends when the last copy disappears from the WHO’s backups, caches, and other systems. Other licenses You apply to content you submit may continue after Your content is removed. Those licenses may give others, or WHO itself, the right to share Your content through the Digital Environment again.

Others who receive content You submit to the Digital Environment may violate the terms on which You license Your content. You agree that WHO will not be liable to You for those violations or their consequences.

Through the Digital Environment, You may have the ability to access and/or use content provided by other Users, including user postings and/or other third parties. Sources that contribute to the platform contain publicly available information e.g. news feeds. The views expressed in such User and/or third-party content do not necessarily represent the decision or the stated policy of WHO.

WHO cannot guarantee that such third-party content will be free of material You may find objectionable or otherwise inappropriate or of malware or other contaminants that may harm your computer, mobile device, or any files therein. WHO disclaims any responsibility or liability related to your access or use of such third-party content, and is not responsible for the accuracy, usefulness, reliability or intellectual property rights of such third-party material, including user content.

WHO makes no warranties or representations that the information contained in the Digital Environment, or sources reached via links or references, is complete and correct and shall not be liable whatsoever for any damages incurred as a result of its use.

The Digital Environment may contain links to other Internet pages. With regard to these third-party websites, WHO has no control whatsoever over the content of the linked pages. WHO therefore shall not be held responsible whatsoever for the accuracy or content of a page to be reached via such a link and shall not be held liable for any damages arising from its use. The presence of any resource or external link on the Digital Environment does not imply that the resource, or its author or entity, is endorsed or recommended by WHO.

You understand and acknowledge that You may be exposed to third party material, including user postings, that is inaccurate, offensive, defamatory, indecent, or objectionable and You waive any rights or remedies You have or may have against WHO in respect thereto.
You agree not to wrongly imply that content You submit to the Digital Environment is sponsored or approved by WHO.
You may not submit content to the Digital Environment that is unlawful, promotes unlawful activities, infringes anyone’s intellectual property rights, violates anyone’s privacy, or breaches agreements You have with others.
You may not submit content to the Digital Environment that is illegal, offensive, or otherwise harmful to others. This includes content that is harassing, inappropriate, or abusive.
You may not submit content to the Digital Environment that is off-topic, unprofessional, or otherwise disruptive to civilized discourse of the Digital Environment.
You may not submit content to the Digital Environment containing malicious computer code, such as computer viruses or spyware.
You may not submit content to the Digital Environment as a mere placeholder, to hold a particular address, User name, or other unique identifier.
You may not submit content to the Digital Environment that is sexually obscene or relates to sexual exploitation or abuse, including of minors.
You may not submit content to the Digital Environment that is libelous, defamatory, or fraudulent.
You may not submit content to the Digital Environment that harasses or abuses another individual or group.
You may not submit content to the Digital Environment that is discriminatory or abusive toward any individual or group.
You may not submit content to the Digital Environment that threatens or incites violence toward any individual or group, especially on the basis of who they are.
You may not submit content to the Digital Environment that gratuitously depicts or glorifies violence, including violent images.
You may not submit content to the Digital Environment that is false, inaccurate, or intentionally deceptive information and likely to adversely affect the public interest (including health, safety, election integrity, and civic participation).
You may not use the Digital Environment to disclose information that you don’t have the right to disclose, like others’ confidential or personal information.

As the Digital Environment is restricted (non-public) for registered Users, information from it cannot be linked to other public websites. If you want to reproduce any information on the Digital Environment, to share on a public or closed website, please request permission with a description of your intended use to collaboratory@who.int.

WHO has no obligation to monitor or moderate information provided in the Digital Environment or shared between Users. However, WHO reserves the right to review User content and to exercise its sole discretion to edit or remove, in whole or in part, any User content at any time and for any reason.

Without limiting the foregoing, upon receiving notice from a User or a content owner that identified content allegedly does not conform to these terms, WHO may investigate the allegation and determine, in its sole discretion, whether to remove the identified content, which it reserves the right to do at any time and without notice. If You believe someone has submitted content to the Digital Environment in violation of the law or these terms, flag the post in the Digital Environment for moderator attention or e-mail us immediately at collaboratory@who.int.

III. Platform for hosting code repositories

To enable code management features and distribution of public goods for health in terms of code, packages and code documentation Collaboratory uses GitHub platform for hosting code repositories under the Organization account https://github.com/WHO-Collaboratory (“WHO-Collaboratory”).

As per GitHub’s Terms of Service: “The “owner” of an Organization that was created under these Terms has ultimate administrative control over that Organization and the Content within it. Within the Service, an owner can manage User access to the Organization’s data and projects. An Organization may have multiple owners, but there must be at least one Personal Account designated as an owner of an Organization. If you are the owner of an Organization under these Terms, we consider you responsible for the actions that are performed on or through that Organization.”

To access content of public and/or private repositories under WHO-Collaboratory, You must agree to and accept GithHub Terms of Service.
To access content of public and/or private repositories under WHO-Collaboratory, You must have a valid GitHub personal account.

Owners of WHO-Collaboratory reserve the rights to manage your access permissions to code repositories and allowed actions in a specific code repository.

IV. Enforcement

WHO retains full discretion to take action in response to a violation of these policies, including account suspension, account termination, or removal of content.

WHO may investigate and prosecute violations of these terms to the fullest legal extent. WHO may notify and cooperate with law enforcement authorities in prosecuting violations of the law and these terms.

IV.1. Reinstatement and appeal

If your content or account has been disabled or restricted and You seek reinstatement or wish to appeal, You can contact WHO at collaboratory@who.int.

IV.2.Contact

You may notify WHO under these terms, and send questions to WHO, at collaboratory@who.int.

WHO may notify You under these terms using the e-mail address You provide for your account on Collaboratory digital environment.

IV.3. Changes

WHO reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to modify or replace these terms at any time. WHO last updated these terms on 10 March 2026, and may update these terms again. WHO will notify You about substantial updates. For updates that contain substantial changes, WHO agrees to e-mail You, if You’ve created an account and provided a valid e-mail address. By continuing to access or use the platform after those revisions become effective, You agree to be bound by the revised terms. If You do not agree to the new terms, please stop using the platform.

Once You receive notice of an update to these terms, You must agree to the new terms in order to keep using Collaboratory digital environment.

IV.4. No WHO warranties

WHO makes no warranty with respect to the platform, and disclaims all statutory or implied warranties, expressed or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process related to the platform, including, without limitation, to any warranty of design or fitness for a particular purpose, even if WHO has been informed of such purpose. WHO does not represent that the use of the platform would not infringe third parties’ proprietary rights.

IV.5. Country or area designations

The designations employed do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of WHO concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

IV.6. Mentions of companies or products

Any mention of specific companies or of certain manufacturers’ products does not imply that they are endorsed or recommended by the World Health Organization in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned. Errors and omissions excepted, the names of proprietary products are distinguished by initial capital letters.

IV.7. Limitation of WHO’s liability

WHO shall not be liable for any loss or damage arising directly or indirectly in connection with, or resulting from, your use of the platform. WHO further expressly excludes liability for any indirect, special, incidental or consequential damages which may arise in respect of the platform and its use, and the results thereof, including, without limitation, any use of the data, privileges and Immunities of WHO.

IV.8. Privileges and Immunities of WHO

Nothing contained herein or in any terms of use related to the subject matter herein shall be construed as a waiver of any of the privileges and immunities enjoyed by the World Health Organization under national or international law, and/or as submitting the World Health Organization to any national court jurisdiction.

IV.9. Settlement of disputes

Any matter relating to the interpretation or application of these terms of use which is not covered by their terms shall be resolved by reference to Swiss law. Any dispute relating to the interpretation or application of these Terms of Use shall, unless amicably settled, be subject to conciliation. In the event of failure of the latter, the dispute shall be settled by arbitration. The arbitration shall be conducted in accordance with the modalities to be agreed upon by the parties or, in the absence of agreement, in accordance with the UNCITRAL Arbitral Rules. The Parties shall accept the arbitral award as final.

Collaboratory Code of Conduct

Like the network of interconnected practitioners passionate about epidemic and pandemic intelligence, Collaboratory is made up of a wide range of partners and practitioners from all over the world who share a repertoire of resources, experiences, stories, tools, ways of addressing recurring as well as new public health challenges. Together, we are working on every aspect of Collaboratory initiative - including connecting people; co-creating, developing, and improving tools for transparent, reusable, and comparable advanced analysis; testing, monitoring, and evaluating approaches and tools while sharing best practices and lessons learned.

Diversity is one of our huge strengths, but differences in perspectives, communication styles and other aspects can also lead to communication issues and unhappiness. To that end, we have a few ground rules that we ask people to adhere to. This code applies equally to all members of Collaboratory. This is not an exhaustive list of things that you cannot do. Rather, take it in the spirit in which it is intended - a guide to make it easier to enrich all of us and the pandemic and epidemic intelligence network in which we participate.

This code of conduct applies to all spaces managed or used by Collaboratory.

Aims

The Collaboratory aims to create a safe space for true collaboration to take place. This Code of Conduct is intended to support this aim by setting explicit expectations for Collaboratory interactions, identifying and providing preventative guardrails for potential tensions between Collaboratory members, and detailing processes for mitigation of problems that may arise.

Rules of engagement

Be welcoming. We strive to be a network that welcomes and supports people of all backgrounds and identities. This includes, but is not limited to members of any race, ethnicity, culture, national origin, colour, immigration status, social and economic class, educational level, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, age, size, family status, political belief, religion, and mental and physical ability.

Be transparent. Collaboratory includes individuals from all over the world, many of whom have never met and may not have interacted previously, and it is important for people to understand whom they are sharing information and ideas with. Filling in your profile is an important part of helping all know who they are in community and conversation with, and when joining Collaboratory, we recommend adding the following information in the custom field (at a minimum): full name and current affiliation/s. You may also consider adding additional information about your background, a profile picture, and/or links to external sites where people can find out more about you and your work (e.g., a LinkedIn or Google Scholar page), what you are interested in collaborating on.

Be mindful. Choose your words wisely, as the communications you have online can impact other members and colleagues. Take into consideration the consequences when acting. Use clear and concise language to avoid misunderstandings and misinterpretations. This makes it easier for others to understand your point and participate in the discussion. Remember that we are a worldwide network, so you might not be communicating in someone else’s primary language.

Be respectful. Not all of us will agree all the time, in fact different opinions can lead to great innovation! But disagreement is no excuse for poor behaviour and poor manners. We might all experience some frustration now and then, but we cannot allow that frustration to turn into a personal attack. It is important to remember that a community where people feel uncomfortable or threatened is not a productive one. Members of Collaboratory should be respectful when dealing with other members.

Be agreeable, even when you disagree. Disagreements, both social and technical, happen all the time and Collaboratory is no exception. The strength of Collaboratory comes from its people from a wide range of backgrounds and different perspectives on issues. if there is disagreement, focus on helping to resolve issues and learning from mistakes. Be mindful to constructively critic ideas, not people.

Be patient, be timely. Bear in mind that many contributors are participating in their free time, and people are often very busy. If you are waiting for something, or an answer to a question, be patient. If someone is waiting for you to do something for them, you should be extended the same courtesy, but at the same time, try to respond as promptly as you can. If you really cannot find the time, let them know, and ask your Community of Practice Lead or Collaboratory Secretariat to help you find someone else to follow-up.

Be collaborative. Think carefully about the way you handle communication – make sure it is useful, and that it does not make another contributor’s job harder. Do not complicate communication by trying to discuss multiple topics at once or making off-topic comments. Contribute to other threads if you have a useful point to make or can answer someone else’s question. Create value by sharing valuable information, resources, insightful comments, and constructive feedback.

Be clear. When posting in the Collaboratory forum, consider the purpose of your post. For example: are you disseminating information, seeking input on existing work with established collaborators, providing a resource or tool for others to use, or inviting contributions to a project? We recommend being explicit about what you’re looking for out of the interaction.

Acknowledge the contributions of others. This is intended as a collaborative space, and we learn from and are stronger working together. All shared content, work done jointly, and relevant contributions should be acknowledged.

Do not post data that you do not own without explicit permission of the data owner, unless the data are publicly available. The data source and data owner (if different) should be acknowledged when posting data, and links to the data source should be provided whenever possible.
If someone has shared ideas or data, consult with them before incorporating these into your own work. Sharing in this forum is intended to promote collaboration and does not constitute permission for independent use.
Collaboratory members exist within institutions and their own personal and professional networks; thus, some projects and collaborations that benefit from Collaboratory interactions may include non-Collaboratory members.
If you are inviting contributions to a project, we recommend early and open discussion of how these contributions will be credited in any resulting outputs. Cooke et al. (see Recommended Further Reading) provide useful suggestions for navigating issues of authorship in particular, though it is important to note that issues of credit and acknowledgement also require care in context other than academic publications.

If you see a problem, flag it. If you believe someone is violating the code of conduct or engaging in other problematic behaviour contrary to the Collaboratory’s aims and values, please report it by emailing collaboratory@who.int. All reports will be kept confidential. If you are unsure whether the incident is a violation, or whether the space where it happened is covered by the Code of Conduct, we encourage you to still report it. We would much rather have a few extra reports where we decide to take no action, rather than miss a report of an actual violation. We do not look negatively on you if we find the incident is not a violation. Knowing about incidents that are not violations, or happen outside our spaces, can also help us to improve the code of conduct or the processes surrounding it.

Enforcement

Collaboratory Secretariat will investigate reported incidents regarding violations of the code of conduct in a timely manner and decide upon a response. In some cases, we may determine that a public statement will need to be made or a specific party or institution will need to be notified. If that is the case, the identities of all victims and reporters will remain confidential unless those individuals give permission to disclose their identities.

Violations of the code of conduct can lead to the following measures with regards to participation in the Collaboratory platform:

Warning. Appropriate measure when the individual may not have been aware they violated the code of conduct or may have been acting in good faith. An apology or acknowledgment may be requested.
Temporary ban. A measure that prevents a person to use Collaboratory resources or participate in Collaboratory initiative activities for a specific period of time (default: 30 days). Usually enforced when the individual has already received a warning beforehand. An apology or acknowledgment may be requested.
Permanent ban. A measure that prevents a person to use Collaboratory resources or participate in Collaboratory initiative activities indefinitely. Usually enforced when the individual has already received warnings and/or temporary ban measures beforehand, or behaviour poses a serious threat to the health and/or safety of Collaboratory.

Our community is something we build together. We are excited to have you as part of Collaboratory and look forward to what we can all create!

By using this discussion forum, you agree to Collaboratory Code of Conduct.

Credits for the sources and inspiration of this code of conduct go to the Speak Up! project, Django project, Discourse, Mozilla and Contributor covenants.

Recommended further reading: Cooke et al. (2021) Ten strategies for avoiding and overcoming authorship conflicts in academic publishing. FACETS https://doi.org/10.1139/facets-2021-0103

Please message Collaboratory Secretariat or reach out at Collaboratory@who.int if you have any comments, questions or concerns.