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Adapting institutional research ethics and integrity governance to challenges of new and emerging technologies
irecs at the ENRIO Conference 2023
Sandra Scholl studied Philosophy and Psychology and is a research associate at the German Reference Center for Ethics in the Life Sciences at the University of Bonn. Together with the coordinator Dirk Lanzerath she leads the irecs consortium. Daniela Proske studied Catholic Theology at the University of Bonn and is a research associate at the department of Moral Theology of the faculty of Catholic Theology at the University of Bonn. She is part of the irecs project team.
New and emerging technologies not only permeate society but also raise challenges for research ethics and integrity. Especially recent advances in artificial intelligence, such as ChatGPT, but also progress in, for example, extended reality, genome editing and biobanking research create a need for governance schemes that help ensure research on and with such technologies is conducted responsibly. The irecs project develops and pilot-tests an institutional governance model that combines guidance and educational elements.
To present the project and explore possible overlaps with other projects, partners and networks, part of the irecs team was at the Sorbonne University in Paris to attend the ENRIO Congress 2023 (7.-8. September 2023). ENRIO – the European Network of Research Integrity Officers – is one of irecs' partner networks and with the second edition of this congress series they offered the opportunity for experts to come together and share ideas about new and effective practices for research integrity. The congress was organized by ENRIO, the French Office for Research Integrity (Ofis) and the Sorbonne University in Paris. The programme was very diverse and 14 plenary speakers, 300 attendees, 3 invited speakers and 50 contributive talks covered a wide range of areas of research integrity.
Even before the start of the conference on 7th September, we attended the pre-congress session and answered questions about irecs and presented a poster. 22 EU-projects and their representatives met at the pre-congress to exchange their goals, methods and results. The aim of the pre-congress session was to provide a room to discuss about the current European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity and to share new strategies for the implementation.
The main conference was then opened on 7th September by Nathalie Drach-Temam, the President of Sorbonne University. Dirk Lanzerath and Sandra Scholl introduced the irecs project to the audience and emphasized in particular the need to adapt institutional research ethics and integrity governance to challenges of new and emerging technologies. irecs addresses these challenges by implementing and embedding sustainable education, trainings, and awareness actions to enhance research ethics and integrity on a European and global level. Especially at research performing and higher education institutions, existing practices are often insufficient to deal with the challenges created by research on, and with new and emerging technologies. irecs aims to support necessary adaptations and to thereby promote trust in science.
The conference was an excellent opportunity for productive exchange to identify, discuss and disseminate good practices and strengthen channels of communication and collaboration between the research ethics and research integrity communities.