SwafS 2018-2019 Ethics and Research Integrity

1. SwafS 2018-2019 • Ethics and Research Integrity • Ethics and Research Integrity Sector, SAM UNIT • DG Research & Innovation

2. Outline • 1. Background • 2. SwafS-02-2018: Innovative methods for teaching ethics and research integrity • 3. SwafS-03-2018: Developing research integrity standard operating procedures • 4. SwafS-16-2018:Ethics of Innovation: the challenge of new interaction modes

3. Background • Research Integrity concerns all stages of research process: • Research design • Methodology • Data collection and analysis • Interpretation and presentation of research results • Requires reflection on the social impact of the research

4. Background Cost of research misconduct: • Undermine public trust • Misuse of public funds • Harms to the health and well-being of research participants • Adoption of erroneous policies • Release of unsafe products • Tarnishing the reputation of research institutions, research groups or individual researchers.

5. Background: The European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity • 4 principles: • Reliability • Honesty • Respect • Accountability

6. Background: The European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity • The Code applies to both public and private research in all scientific disciplines, including social sciences and humanities, as well as to all types of scientific research. • The Code positions research integrity within the overall research environment. The positive role that institutions must have in supporting and promoting integrity is highlighted and their obligations are further detailed.

7. Background: The European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity • Training, Supervision and Mentoring • • Research institutions and organisations ensure that researchers receive rigorous training in research design, methodology and analysis. • • Research institutions and organisations develop appropriate and adequate training in ethics and research integrity and ensure that all concerned are made aware of the relevant codes and regulations. • • Researchers across the entire career path, from junior to the most senior level, undertake training in ethics and research integrity.

8. Background: Council Conclusions on Research Integrity • Research integrity is the foundation of high quality research and a prerequisite for achieving excellence in research and innovation in Europe and beyond; • The increase in scientific output and dissemination worldwide highlights the importance of good practice through all stages of the research and innovation cycle; • All actors involved, including individual researchers, research organisations and the research community should define and implement policies to promote research integrity, prevent and address research misconduct. • EC and Member States should step up efforts to exchange best practices, promote institutional change and facilitate training activities;

9. SwafS-02-2018: Innovative methods for teaching ethics and research integrity • Specific Challenge: • Promoting research integrity through training and education is essential in order to maximise the quality and societal impact of research. • Scope: • To develop and test innovative educational student-centred methods aiming to promote a culture of research integrity among students and early career researchers.

10. SwafS-02-2018: Innovative methods for teaching ethics and research integrity • A) Different curricula and educational tools and methods should be developed for two groups: • secondary school students • undergraduate and graduate students in relevant fields (including technical education students), as well as early career researchers. • B) Design of training programs for educators responsible for implementing the curricula.

11. SwafS-02-2018: Innovative methods for teaching ethics and research integrity • The work should be based (among others) on: • (i) a mapping of other existing innovative teaching techniques • (ii) an analysis of the benefits and potential impact of the proposed methodology compared to the existing educational practices.

12. SwafS-02-2018: Innovative methods for teaching ethics and research integrity • Expected Impact: • improve current educational and training methods and (short and long term) results • raise awareness of students and early career researchers • contribute to the establishment of a research integrity culture and to the responsible conduct of research and research excellence • Budget: EUR2.50 million

13. SwafS-03-2018: Developing research integrity standard operating procedures • Specific Challenge: • Research misconduct undermines the quality of research and may lead to social and financial costs. • Need for appropriate structures to achieve the broadest embedding of research integrity and minimization of research misconduct. • Research Performing Organisations (RPOs) and Research Funding Organisations (RFOs) have a key role in shaping the culture of scientific research, and could promote quality of science by developing such structures.

14. SwafS-03-2018: Developing research integrity standard operating procedures • Scope: • Development of Research Integrity Promotion Plans, i.e. concrete and efficient research integrity support processes and structures as "drivers" for institutional change within RPOs and RFOs. • The plans will include SOP and operative guidelines for effective and efficient prevention, detection and handling of research misconduct, as well as other actions, addressing the needs and expectations of the research funders, the research community and other relevant stakeholders.

15. SwafS-03-2018: Developing research integrity standard operating procedures • Issues to be explored include: • Factors that negatively affect research culture and the means of promoting quality of science • Best standard practices and GLP • Enhancing reproducibility of results and standardization of materials • Encouraging publication of negative results • Introducing research integrity in Higher Education Institutions' curricula and continuing education actions on research integrity • SOP for establishing research integrity committees • Commonly accepted framework of principles and procedures for dealing with research misconduct

16. SwafS-03-2018: Developing research integrity standard operating procedures • Key element in developing the SOPs and guidelines: addressing in a constructive manner the roots of research misconduct • Identify the most effective sanctions • Propose and validate innovative ways of stimulating responsible research practices • The guidelines and SOPs will be based on CO-DESIGN: • Focus groups with stakeholders • Large-scale survey of researchers • Literature review

17. SwafS-03-2018: Developing research integrity standard operating procedures • The work should also include cost-benefit analysis and suggestions as to how the proposed SOP and guidelines should be embedded in the RPOs and RFOs internal procedures (acknowledging the differences in size, scope of activities, location, budget etc.). • The work will also propose methods for monitoring the implementation of such integrity plans in RPOs and RFOs. • The elaborated SOPs and guidelines should be tested as a pilot, in selected institutions, and the feedback on their efficiency and effectiveness should be integrated into the outcomes of the project.

18. SwafS-03-2018: Developing research integrity standard operating procedures • Expected Impact: • Contribute to the development of a strong research integrity and ethics culture in the EU. • Institutional changes within RPOs and RFOs that will fill in gaps in the existing system • Promote responsible research and innovation while respecting the diverse circumstances that prevail in different scientific and research fields. • Budget: EUR 4 million

19. SwafS-16-2019: Ethics of Innovation: the challenge of new interaction modes • Background: • Innovation: main driver for change, a pillar of EU growth and globally for socio-economic development. • Evolution in modes of interaction among stakeholders: more active participation of citizens in science, new IT tools, etc. • Ethical and regulatory considerations: protection of participating citizens, collection of big data and related privacy considerations, intellectual property issues, etc.

20. SwafS-16-2019: Ethics of Innovation: the challenge of new interaction modes • Scope: • Assess the ethical and regulatory issues arising • Identify the distinctive elements of innovation ethics: • The role of the citizens must be analysed (best practices for active involvement and design IT tool) • Existing legal framework mapped and, analysed, challenges identified, ways to address them proposed • Analysis of current practices, discussing ethics dimension and identify best practices

21. SwafS-16-2019: Ethics of Innovation: the challenge of new interaction modes • Propose an ethics framework based on accepted principles-validated and translated into practical guidelines (compatible/complimentary with ALLEA Code) • Effectivenesstested via workshops etc. and pilot study in representative Member States

22. SwafS-16-2019: Ethics of Innovation: the challenge of new interaction modes • Expected Impact: • Enable more effective handling of ethical dimension of innovation and offer a practical and operative tool for all stakeholders confronted with the challenges related to co-design and to new (IT-based) interaction modes. • It will practically support the work of: • the designers and funders of research and innovation policies/programmes, • the ethics committees tasked with evaluating and monitoring innovative programmes and projects, and • the research integrity bodies responsible for promoting research integrity and research quality. • Budget: EUR 3 million

23. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION!