Corporate Relations Policy
The mission of the Coalition of Skin Diseases (CSD) is to advocate on behalf of the 84 million Americans living with a skin disease. We work to accomplish this through:
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- Fostering education and awareness of skin diseases and disorders,
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- Advocating for access to appropriate and quality health care and treatments,
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- Contributing to burden and related skin disease research, and
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- Strengthening dermatologic patient advocacy organizations through the sharing of resources
The CSD recognizes that outreach and engagement with unrelated entities can positively serve its mission. Accordingly, CSD engages in a variety of strategic relationships with corporations, unincorporated entities, and individuals. Some relationships may have support or educational objectives; some may be intended to create awareness or promote research; some may be designed for fund raising purposes; and some may be multifaceted in nature. All such relationships are entered into for the purpose of fulfilling and advancing the mission of the CSD.
This corporate relations policy is intended to establish procedures and strategies which ensure that CSD’s integrity and independence remains unimpaired and uncompromised when CSD avails itself of opportunities for the development of support, education, awareness and research.
For the avoidance of doubt, the term “corporation” as used herein, shall mean any legal entity that provides funds or engages in activities with the CSD, whether such entity be a parent company (i.e., the headquarters, principal office, or controlling company of a commercial enterprise), subsidiary company or any other form of enterprise or organization.
Governing Principles
The CSD Board of Directors has determined that the establishment and maintenance of corporate relationships shall be governed by the following principles:
Mission-related benefit
Corporate relationships must provide a meaningful and substantial mission-related benefit to the general public or particular constituencies of CSD.
Independence
CSD shall exercise independent judgment in its decision-making and CSD shall avoid conflicts of interest, or the appearance thereof, when establishing and maintaining corporate relationships. No such relationship will provide special access or input into CSD’s decision-making process. CSD welcomes broad funding from multiple sources.
Consistency
All corporate relationships must be maintained in a manner that is consistent with CSD’s principles, public positions, policies and standards.
Consumer Communications
Materials directed to the public regarding a corporate relationship will contain clear terms or statements, such that a reasonable individual can fully understand the nature and extent of the corporate relationship.
Disclosure
Disclosure of corporate support from pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device companies will be posted on CSD’s website and included in the CSD annual report.
Endorsement & Certification
CSD does not endorse particular products or types of products. Special scrutiny, including regulatory guidelines, must be applied when prescription and over-the-counter drugs and devices are involved to avoid unintended endorsement, suggestion of product superiority, or bias for or against a specific product.
Adherence
The corporate relationship must adhere to all applicable state and local laws and regulations.
Privacy
CSD shall have written guidelines to protect the privacy of participants in corporate-sponsored activities and/or programs.
Respect
All partnerships between the CSD and corporations must be based on mutual respect, with the views and decisions of each partner having equal value.
Implementation & Review
The CSD Board of Directors has further determined that corporate relationships shall be implemented and reviewed in accordance with the following guidelines:
Organizational Policies:
Corporate relationships are subject to ongoing review, approval, and evaluation by the CSD Board of Directors. The Board will also evaluate on an annual basis the total amount of corporate support received as a percentage of total revenue.
Compliance
CSD will establish procedures to ensure compliance with its policy for corporate relationship by CSD staff and volunteers. The policy for corporate relationships will be circulated to all involved parties, with a request to acknowledge receipt and full understanding of said policy.
Use of Name & Logo
Use of the CSD name, logo and identifying marks in a corporate relationship must be reviewed and approved by CSD in writing in advance of their use, including in statements, advertising or other materials from the corporation. Usage of the CSD name, logo and identifying marks shall be specified in addition to the period of usage.
Written Agreement
There shall be a written agreement between CSD and the corporation prior to implementation of the corporate relationship. The written agreement will clearly indicate the amount of funding and also the purpose: (i) the consideration that will be received by CSD; (ii) whether the consideration is unrestricted or restricted to support a particular event or program activity; (iii) a written description of the mission-driven activity supported that both parties will agree to use for purposes of disclosure to the general public; (iv) the manner in which the corporate relationship will be disclosed to the general public; (v) that CSD retains complete control of and right of approval over all content related to the event or program activity; and (vi) the manner in which CSD’s name, logo and/or identifying marks may be used by the corporation. Each corporation should have an approval process in place for these agreements.
Events and Hospitality
All events sponsored or organized by or on behalf of a company, including scientific, business or professional meetings, must be held in appropriate locations and venues that are conducive to the main purpose of the event. All forms of hospitality provided by corporations to the CSD and its members shall be reasonable in level and secondary to the main purpose of the event, whether the event is organized by the CSD or the corporation.
Hospitality extended in connection with events shall be limited to travel, meals, accommodation and registration fees.
Hospitality may only be extended to persons who qualify as participants in their own right. In exceptional cases, in case of clear health needs (i.e. disability), the travel meals, accommodation and registration fees cost of an accompanying person considered to be a caregiver can be taken.
All forms of hospitality offered to the CSD and its representatives shall be “reasonable” in level and strictly limited to the purpose of the event.