The future of research ethics review in the changing research environments

Closed

Programme Category

EU Competitive Programmes

Programme Name

Horizon Europe (2021-2027)

Programme Description

Horizon Europe is the European Union (EU) funding programme for the period 2021 – 2027, which targets the sectors of research and innovation. The programme’s budget is around € 95.5 billion, of which € 5.4 billion is from NextGenerationEU to stimulate recovery and strengthen the EU’s resilience in the future, and € 4.5 billion is additional aid.

Programme Details

Identifier Code

HORIZON-WIDERA-2023-ERA-01-12

Call

The future of research ethics review in the changing research environments

Summary

The overall objective is to identify gaps in practice and formulate proposals to enhance the capabilities of the existing ‘ethics infrastructure’ in Europe.
Support an effective adaptation of the ethics reviews to the evolution of scientific research, notably due to the emergence of new areas of research and new forms of research collaborations.
The emergence of new areas of research and development, including in the areas of gene editing and artificial intelligence, and the shift of research activities and collaborations to the online digital space, challenge the future of research ethics reviews. Ethics should focus on the adherence to values and principles and not be a legal compliance mechanism.

Detailed Call Description

Research activities that do not involve traditional ‘research participants’ –  Example is research assembling and analysing large volumes of existing (anonymised) research data, data produced as a by-product of people’s use of technological devices and services, and other categories of non-personal data.

The proposed actions should:

  • Analyse the strengths and weaknesses of the current approaches to ethics review in their capacity to address the challenges above (new technologies, new players, new forms of collaboration and partnerships, new human rights related framework, etc.), and, on this basis, propose concrete ways of adapting ethics committees (working methodologies, composition, etc.) in view of matching the new challenges. As regards the role of the bodies, it is important not to limit the scope to the ex-ante ethics review, prior to the start of the research concerned, but to also cover the monitoring during the implementation of the research and innovation activities. Practical ways to support the work of relevant stakeholders, notably research funders should also be identified, including the development of quality criteria or benchmarking tools to assist in the evaluation of existing research ethics oversight mechanisms. The applicability of the proposed approaches should also be tested via the use of specific case-studies (involving non-EU partners where appropriate);
  • Organise stakeholder consultations and interdisciplinary mutual learning initiatives to enable the identification of best practices for the ethics oversight of new modes of research. As cutting-edge research is of cross-border character, this action should involve institutions that engage in research ethics review and relevant related activities, including at the international level;
  • Develop guidelines and corresponding training and education materials to enable ethics experts involved in ethics reviews to assess compliance with the new ethics standards resulting from the new challenges addressed under point 1 and above;
  • Train Framework Programme ethics appraisal scheme experts (250-300). Close attention should be paid to gender balance, as well as to gender equality- and diversity-related ethical aspects. Feedback of the trainees should be used to improve the trainings.

Call Total Budget

€3,00 million

Financing percentage by EU or other bodies / Level of Subsidy or Loan

100%

EU Contribution: € 3,00 million

Thematic Categories

  • Enlargement
  • Research, Technological Development and Innovation

Eligibility for Participation

  • Researchers/Research Centers/Institutions
  • Semi-governmental organisations
  • State-owned Enterprises

Eligibility For Participation Notes

A broader variety of players, often in an international setting, is frequently involved in such research activities. These may include universities, corporations, public and private foundations, civil society organisations, online service providers, open exchange and collaboration initiatives and platforms, and other formal and informal associations.

Beneficiaries will be subject to the following additional dissemination obligations: Proposals must include structured cooperation with the e-platform Embassy of Good Science 88 (including the necessary technical aspects), and the European Networks ENERI (European Network of Research Ethics Committees and Research Integrity Offices).
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Call Opening Date

06/12/2022

Call Closing Date

09/03/2023

National Contact Point(s)

Research and Innovation Foundation
29a Andrea Michalakopoulou, 1075 Nicosia
P.O.Box 23422, 1683 Nicosia
Phone Number: +357 22205000
Email Address: support@research.org.cy
Website: https://www.research.org.cy/en/

Contact Persons:
Ms Constantina Makri
Scientific Officer
Contact Phone: +357 22 205 054
Contact Email: cmakri@research.org.cy

Ms Katerina Karakasidou
Scientific Officer
Contact Phone: +357 22 205 036
Contact Email: kkarakasidou@research.org.cy

Mr. Marinos Photiades
Scientific Officer
Contact phone: +357 22205048
Contact email: mphotiades@research.org.cy 

Dr Kalypso Sepou
Head of European Programmes Department
Contact Phone: +357 22 205066
Contact Email: kalypso@research.org.cy

(Publish Date: 15/12/2022-for internal use only)