Welcome to our first newsletter of the year.
In this issue, we share updates from our first quarterly meeting, progress on our ongoing projects, the Research Integrity Concordat, three new case studies and key engagements across the sector.
Thank you for your continued support and collaborations with the Committee. We value these inputs and look forward to working with you this year to continue to drive progress on research integrity.
Higher Education Institutions, Government departments and Independent Research Organisations annual statement analysis – appointment
By way of update to our December Newsletter, we are pleased to announce that in conjunction with the Research Integrity Concordat Signatories group (RICS), we have commissioned Research Consulting to carry out an analysis that looks at annual statements from Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), Government departments and Independent Research Organisations published between 2022-2024.
This is a repeat and update to the 2023 analysis in which the Committee and the RICS group commissioned Research Consulting to carry out an analysis of content of discoverable annual statements. The analysis included 283 statements over three years (2019-2022) produced by HEIs as part of their commitment to the UK Concordat to Support Research Integrity. The findings from the analysis can be found on our project page.
We hope to publish the results of the new analysis in early summer of 2025.
Research Integrity Concordat
On 10 February 2025, the Research Integrity Concordat Signatories group (RICS) met in person for a half-day to discuss its strategic vision, forward plan, governance and role in the system. This built on work to refresh the Concordat through consultation in 2024. It was a great day with valuable insights shared. The RICS group emphasised the breadth and complexity of the sector and its continued priority of strengthening research integrity.
The launch of the refreshed Concordat is due in early April this year. The review focused on ensuring that the Concordat remains clear, concise, relevant and usable. Organisations using the Concordat will be expected to demonstrate compliance with expectations from 1st April 2026.
You can read more about the RICS group and find publications on the Committee’s website.
Our workstream on addressing poor research practice and research misconduct
The Committee’s cross sector working group on addressing poor research practices and research misconduct continues to convene on a bi-monthly basis to inform and monitor progress on the ‘Research Misconduct in the UK’ commission. During the January meeting, the working group discussed the intersection of the commission with ongoing projects within the system. These projects include the Committee’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) workstream, the Delphi study – Fostering Accountability for the Integrity of Research Studies (FAIRS) led by Professor Dorothy Bishop at the University of Oxford and the recently published discussion paper by UKRIO on terminology changes to destigmatise the investigation of research misconduct.
At the meeting, members provided feedback on the interview protocols developed by RAND Europe. These protocols will be instrumental in capturing insights and nuance from the desktop review for workstream one which seeks to provide evidence on the UK Higher Education research sector’s governance of research misconduct by leveraging the experiences of research integrity managers, panellists and faculty/early career researchers.
Members also reflected on the UK research integrity and misconduct system map produced by RAND Europe. The system map identified key elements within the research system that promotes research integrity and addresses research misconduct in the UK. RAND Europe intends to use this map to frame discussions at the policy implications workshop planned for the second quarter of 2025. We will share information about the workshop in the coming months.
With respect to workstream two, which explores international models for managing research misconduct in Higher Education Institutions, from in desk-based work, RAND Europe have described 24 country approaches, including material relating to their effectiveness. We aim to publish this key early output in the second quarter of the year. Further scrutiny of approaches in 10 countries, selected for their diversity, including interviews with stakeholders to understand policies, procedures and resourcing arrangements will also be carried out in the second quarter of the year.
The final report from this project is expected in the third quarter of 2025. It is planned that the findings and outputs from this commission will inform anticipated Committee recommendations for UK governance of research misconduct.
Regular updates are available on our addressing poor research practice and research misconduct page.
UKRIO project – Supporting collaborative thinking and progress on discussing authorship disputes
Our co-chair Andrew George is currently representing the Committee and providing advisory support on the Authorship Advisory Group for the Supporting Collaborative Thinking and Progress on Discussing Authorship Disputes project led and organised by UKRIO. This project, which is commissioned by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), aims to develop tools to help research stakeholders enhance authorship practices, promote fairness, transparency, and effectively prevent and resolve disputes in research authorship.
Case studies
In this issue we have published three new in-depth case studies from our series of commissioned case studies. These cases discuss approaches and initiatives on research integrity from across the research system.
- Wellcome share an innovative example of a funder sharing resources to help researchers work together to improve research integrity in their organisations.
- The University of Edinburgh’s good practice awards show how they are effecting a culture change by rewarding those who model good research practice.
- In the publishing sector, Wiley show how they have embraced honesty and accountability to improve peer review processes in journal publication.
We welcome the submission of case studies for future publication, and guidelines for this can be found in our case study guidance.
UK Committee on Research Integrity: reflections, January 2025 meeting
The UK Committee on Research Integrity’s January 2025 meeting was held at the Springer Nature Campus, hosted by Chris Graf, Committee Member and the Research Integrity Director and Leader of the Editorial Excellence Team at Springer Nature.
The Committee reflected on ways of working, with emphasis placed on the importance of ensuring clear, achievable impact for the sector. Supporting the alignment of cross sector initiatives and developments also continues to remain a priority.
The Committee discussed engagement with the Research Integrity Concordat Signatories (RICS) Group, focusing on the importance of structured support and collaboration.
Members reflected on the extensive work undertaken by the AI and Research Misconduct workstreams. The Committee considered challenges of sensitively navigating complexity, whilst ensuring work is timely and relevant in a rapidly developing landscape and within resource constraints faced by Higher Education Institutions (HEIs).
The Committee was delighted to be joined by key representatives from major academic publishers for a segment focussing on publishing and research integrity. The Committee found the session to be particularly insightful, appreciating the open exchange of ideas.
The meeting concluded with reflections on informing the sector through insights and leadership. There was consensus on the importance of framing research integrity discussions within the context of the current unsettled nature of the HEI landscape nationally and internationally, ensuring that integrity remains at the core of sectoral strategies. The Committee remains committed to fostering collaboration, reducing bureaucratic burdens, and supporting coordination of Research Integrity provisions across research institutions and publishing entities.
Nandini Das, UK Committee on Research Integrity Member