The Global Research Council Publishes Its Principles for Research Integrity and Open Access. (May 30, 2013)

The Global Research Council "is a virtual organization, comprised of the heads of science and engineering funding agencies from around the world, dedicated to promoting the sharing of data and best practices for high-quality collaboration among funding agencies worldwide."

 The GRC's second annual conference of Heads of 70 research funding organizations of which over 50 representatives convened from 27 – 29 May to talk about open access to publications  and principles of research integrity at the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities in Berlin.

Thr opening paragraph for the 6-page Action Plan towards Open Access to Publications reads:

Assuming that providing research results in open access is beneficial to many stakeholders and will lead to better research, this document suggests a number of activities by which participants in the Global Research Council (GRC) can foster the open exchange of research results. After briefly introducing the concept and the benefits of open access, some common principles for transitioning to open access are suggested as a basis for the action plan. The proposed activities aim at raising awareness for open access, at promoting and supporting open access, and at assessing the implementation of the actions suggested. The action plan is designed to take into account that participants in the GRC come from various backgrounds, have various degrees of expertise in dealing with open access, and have different remits. Thus, funding agencies need to consider which of the proposed activities are appropriate to be taken up by (possibly consortia of) participants in the GRC.

While the preamble of the GRC's Statement of Principles for Research Integrity states:

The Responsible Conduct of Research is at the very essence of the scientific enterprise and is intrinsic to society’s trust in science. Within the framework of the Responsible Conduct of Research, the basic principles of Research Integrity – namely honesty, responsibility, fairness and accountability – are enshrined in foundational documents¹ that also describe the responsibilities of researchers and the scientific community.

While researchers and institutions themselves remain ultimately responsible for undertaking research with integrity, research funding agencies have an obligation to ensure that the research they support is conducted in accordance with the highest standards possible. To that end, participants in the 2nd Annual Meeting of the Global Research Council recognize the following Principles to articulate the responsibilities of research funding agencies in creating an international environment in which research integrity is at the core of all activities.

Whether or not the GRC will have much impact on either integrity in the doing and reporting of research or open-access publishing remains to be seen. For starters its members will have to act in concert and constructively exercise financial clout.

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¹For example: the Singapore Statement, the InterAcademy Council IAP Policy Report, and the European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity.