Executive summary

• Author: Delaney, Niamh; Tornasi, Zeno; Monachello, Roberta
• Pages: 4-4

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Research and innovation are essential to finding solutions to the pressing challenges we

face. It requires opening up the research and innovation system to the participation and

collective i ntelligence of society, embedding high integrity and ethics standards, raising

interest in science, and supporting Europe’s brightest minds engage in scienti fic careers.

Put simply, Europe can not thrive without ensurin g the best possible match between the

immense potential achievements science has to offer and the needs, values and

aspirations of citizens.

The objective of this report is to convey the achievements of the research ethics and

research integrity projects funded under the Science with and for Society (hereinafter

referred to as SwafS) part of Horizon 2020. Its purpose is to serve as input for the

preparation of the Horizon Europe programme implementation.

Overview of SwafS Implementation in Horizon 2020

A budget of EUR 462 million was earmarked for Swa fS in Horizon 2020. Close to 2,000

proposals submitted in response to the annual calls for proposals, conveys strong

interest in SwafS matters.

The annual evaluations are deemed to be highly robust. So far, they resulted in 150

funded projects and close to 50 more projects are expected to stem from the final calls

under Horizon 2020. Since the start of this Fram ework Programme, REA Unit B.5

manages the projects. SwafS projects are typically composed of large consortia with an

average of 11 partners and tend to run for around 3 years.

Research ethics and research integrity

For all research activities fund ed by the European Union, adhering to the highest

standards o f research ethics and in tegrity is pivotal to achieving research excell ence in

all domains. To this end, th e SwafS projects produced a broad array of tools to promote

and support compliance including education material, guidelines, toolkits and Standard

Operating Procedures frameworks.

To tackle the c omplex ethical challenges of new emerging technologies wi th high socio-

economic impact (gen omics, human enhanc ement and human –machine interaction,

artificial intelligence and big data), a cluster of projects are working on enhancing the

existing legal and normative framework of s uch fields and contribute to the ongoing

policy discussions on their governance and regulatory aspects.

To develop research integrity educational materials and innovative resources, dedicated

projects are working i n synergy to develop tailored curricula and educational tools to

promote a culture of research integrity.

To strengthen the EU capacity to uphold the highest ethical standards for research

carried out i n Europe and worldwide, a dedicated European Network of research eth ics

committees and res earch integrity offices (ENERI) has been set up to strengthen

exchanges of good practice and increase collaboration among the main national research

integrity and ethics actors.

In 2019, at the 5th Wor ld Conference on Research Integrity i n Hong K ong, the Embassy

of Good Science platform was launched as a ‘one stop shop’ for al l ethics and research

integrity reference materials and trainings, with its outreach extendin g beyond Europe.

Other important initiatives have also been funded and are illustrated in the core of this

report.