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Group of major research funding and performing organisations offers recommendations for “cornerstone” of research
Science Europe, the group of major research funding and performing organisations, has adopted a “renewed focus” on research integrity, describing it as a “cornerstone” of research.
The association, whose members include the French National Research Agency, the German Research Foundation and UK Research and Innovation, published a position paper on research integrity on 11 July.
The paper announced “a renewal of Science Europe’s focus on research integrity as part of its activities to contribute to the evolution of research cultures and support research quality”.
Rationale
Such a renewal is “right” at this time due to the “challenges and strains” research systems are facing at present, it said.
These include “limited funding, research precarity, narrow incentives and the influence of technologies such as generative artificial intelligence”, which it said could “result in elevated levels of misconduct and other breaches of integrity”.
According to Science Europe, improving research integrity would have a knock-on effect not only on research quality, but also on working environments, science dissemination, career progression and research assessment.
The associated pointed out that research funding and performing organisations “exert influence over all aspects of the research system and have a myriad of responsibilities when it comes to how research is conceived, conducted, disseminated, and managed”.
It made several recommendations for how such research organisations can help to bolster research integrity.
Recommendations
Science Europe encouraged the exchange of best practices on research integrity between organisations, as well as collaboration “to ensure that misconduct from one national system does not prevail or impact upon another system”.
It also suggested that research organisations should document their investigations into misconduct and publish these documents in an anonymised form, when possible. “The data published should include types of cases investigated, outcome of the procedures, and measures taken,” it said.
Organisations should also consider ways to reward actors who work to ensure integrity and improve cultures, the association suggested, adding that they should also encourage community engagement in discussions around integrity issues.
They should provide training and guidance, it said, including to proposal reviewers and programme managers. Completion of such training should be incentivised and recognised in career progression considerations, it added.
Science Europe also called for an “in-depth review of integrity guidelines” related to artificial intelligence, beyond the living guidelines for the responsible use of AI already set by the European Commission.
It suggested that the European Research Area initiative provides the best means to discuss research integrity at European level.