The first meeting of the UK Committee on Research Integrity (UK CORI) took place on Friday 20th May. The majority of our first meeting was a workshop, for us as a committee (2 co-chairs and 8 members) to get a common understanding of the research integrity environment, and to start to map out common objectives and purpose. We shared our ambitions for the work of UK CORI, and what we would contribute to that work.

Collaboration

UK CORI will be working collaboratively across the sector, and will seek external input into its meetings so that we can develop a good understanding of the issues and solutions. We were grateful for presentations by James Parry of UKRIO and Brigid Feeny of BEIS. The committee will continue to invite contributions from organisations across the UK and internationally. In addition, UK CORI will develop a communications and engagement strategy, to enable us to hear from the wide variety of stakeholders.

Ways of working

As a committee we also reviewed our terms of reference and ways of working. One of the features of UK CORI is that all committee members will be actively involved in the work, leading workstreams with embedded evaluation. We will refine and prioritise workstreams and identify things that will have an immediate impact, as well as long term projects.

With members from many disciplines, the committee includes representation from across the research system. UK CORI aims to have wide engagement including with academic, public and private sectors. The committee has fantastic experience and knowledge to bring to the work. The enthusiasm and positivity at this first meeting was palpable and we left the day feeling energised and focused on next steps.

Transparency

One of the principles that the committee will work to is transparency. The minutes of each meeting will be published (unless there is confidential information). However, as approval of minutes takes time, we plan to publish a short summary of this type after every meeting. We hope you find it interesting to read. Please send any comments or questions to secretariat@ukcori.org.