What does an SRO consider in setting up a meeting?
The review administrator must balance a number of priorities. First and foremost, each application must receive a fair and impartial review from qualified scientists. To accomplish this, the SRO must consider the scientific content of the application, the availability of qualified reviewers, schedules, reviewers’ skills (including interpersonal skills), conflicts of interest, and other factors. The SRO must avoid even the appearance of favoritism in selecting reviewers, so that each application is judged on a “level playing field.” A variety of perspectives is sought in a review meeting, and this is accomplished by selecting scientists of diverse skills and demographic characteristics. The review group should consist of scientists who have broad knowledge of a number of areas, and it might include others with more specialized and narrow expertise. Finally, in some cases, non-scientists familiar with technological, community, or business issues are included in the review meeting because
