ELSI Congress announcements to recruit paper and panel submissions were sent to multiple national and international scholars, organizations, and institutions in the fall of 2010. Themes were defined broadly. Applicants were asked to consider how ELSI research has expanded since 2008, and how it has changed through links to other sciences and disciplines, increased specialization, and internationalization. In October 2010, an international planning committee4 was formed to review submissions and develop the Congress agenda. Based on their particular expertise, committee members were assigned in groups to conduct reviews, using criteria of relevance, clarity, significance, and originality. A total of 35 Congress sessions were scheduled: 18 panels and 17 themed sessions, comprising 79 papers overall. The Congress also featured invited plenary speakers and workshops, but we focus here on the submitted research, as it offers a unique opportunity to inductively assess the state of the field in ELSI research and to offer insights about research ethics that are drawn from a wide variety of presentations.
