This handbook, developed by the European Network of Research Integrity Offices (ENRIO), presents information on best practices regarding the protection of whistleblowers in research.
The handbook aims to guide research performing institutions on how to implement a whistleblowing management system. Its contents may also be useful for research funding organisations as they monitor research projects or individual researchers and receive communications related to potential wrongdoing in funded research. The handbook is also directed at researchers, the interested public and potential whistleblowers. It offers some considerations for those contemplating reporting alleged research misconduct, along with potential issues that might arise during and after an investigation.
TABLE OF CONTENT
Introduction.. 6
Checklist: Ways to Protect Whistleblowers in Research.. 7
CHAPTER 1 8
Whistleblowing and Whistleblower Protection – Definitions
CHAPTER 2. 11
Whistleblowers – Who are they? A Categorisation
CHAPTER 3. 13
Protection of Whistleblowers via EU Directive 2019/1937
CHAPTER 4. 15
Using ISO37002 to Design a Best Practice Whistleblower
Management System (WMS)
CHAPTER 5. 18
National Protection of Whistleblowers and Other Persons
Involved in the Handling of a Case in Europe
CHAPTER 6. 21
What Can Research Institutions Do to Protect and Support
Whistleblowers?
CHAPTER 7. 30
Aftercare for Whistleblowers: A Longitudinal Approach
CHAPTER 8. 34
What Other Factors Contribute to Whistleblower Protection?
CHAPTER 9. 37
Practical Tips for Whistleblowers
CHAPTER 10 46
On Being a Whistleblower: From One Who Has Walked the Path
APPENDIX 1: List of Abbreviations50
APPENDIX 2: References.50
APPENDIX 3: Flowchart on Whistleblowing in Research..54
APPENDIX 4: ENRIO Working Group on Whistleblower Protection.56
DOI:
10.5281/zenodo.8192478
Keyword(s):
Whistleblowing, Research Integrity, Whistleblower Protection, ENRIO
License (for files):
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
European Network of Research Integrity Offices (ENRIO). (2023). ENRIO Handbook on Whistleblower Protection in Research. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8192478
A compelling indicator of how seriously a research institution takes integrity, transparency and accountability, is the degree to which it provides codified protection for whistleblowers and has serious penalties for anyone seeking to punish those who make disclosures. This excellent handbook produced by the European Network of Research Integrity Offices (ENRIO), should be considered a yardstick against which institutional arrangements can be compared.
