Tough sanctions on institutions that ignore research integrity rules in new concordat backed by Universities UK and research funders
UK universities risk being barred from accessing public research funding if they do not have structures in place to guard against research misconduct.
Under a revised concordat (https://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/policy-and-analysis/reports/Documents/2019/the-concordat-to-support-research-integrity.pdf) to support research integrity, published on 25 October and signed by UK Research and Innovation – which distributes more than £7 billion annually, mainly through its seven research councils and Research England – funders of research have agreed to “only provide funding to organisations that can demonstrate that appropriate structures are in place to ensure research integrity in their research activities”.
The concordat, which replaces a 2012 agreement (https://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/policy-and-analysis/reports/Pages/research-concordat.aspx) on research integrity, has also been signed by the Wellcome Trust, which spends almost £1 billion a year on research, the National Institute for Health Research and other regional research funding bodies, as well as Universities UK.
