ALLEA - The European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity (Revised Edition)

ALLEA, the European Federation of Academies of Sciences and Humanities, has published the revised edition of the European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity, a document that serves the European Research Community as a framework for self-regulation across all scientific and scholarly disciplines and for all research settings.

Dr Maura Hiney (HRB), who was the Academy's expert nominee to the ALLEA Permanent Working Group on Science and Ethics, was the lead author of the Code's drafting group.

The revised Code addresses recent and emerging challenges emanating from technological development, open science, citizen science and social media, among other areas. The Code sets out principles of research integrity, criteria for good research practice and describes how to prevent violations of research integrity.

The Code was formally presented by the ALLEA President, Professor Gunter Stock, Dr Maura Hiney and the chair of the ALLEA Permanent Working Group on Science and Ethics, Professor Goran Hermeren, to the European Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, Carlos Moedas, at a meeting in Brussels on 24 March 2017. Commissioner Moedas welcomed the Code by saying:

'The Commission's recent White Paper on the Future of Europe shows that we need knowledge and innovation to respond to global challenges and to address the needs of people in the European Union. The public needs full trust in science, and this can only be achieved if the highest levels of research ethics and integrity are guaranteed. This goes hand in hand with our Open Science agenda to ensure open access to scientific publications and data. I warmly thank ALLEA and its member academies for producing this new Code of Conduct for Research Integrity. I am sure it will serve as a model for organisations and researchers across Europe.'

The publication of the Code is the result of a ten-month revision process led by ALLEA’s Permanent Working Group on Science and Ethics, which brings together leading European experts in the fields of research integrity and research ethics. The revision process included an extensive stakeholder consultation at the European level, involving major actors in European research, both public and private, including civil society organisations, private institutions, universities, publishers and the European Commission. The Working Group will review the document every three to five years and revise it as necessary to account for future emerging issues