Scientific Integrity
On 17 May 2021, NWO-I organised an interactive webinar in which professor Ralph Wijers (Anton Pannekoek Institute of Astronomy at the University of Amsterdam) explained why scientific integrity is an important subject and how this can affect researchers. About ninety colleagues from the nine NWO Institutes took part and posed questions about issues such as the practice of publishing and the “copying” of ideas from other scientists. There will be a follow-up to this webinar in the form of tailored, interactive meetings at each NWO Institute.
During the webinar, Joost Frenken, director of ARCNL, noted that violations of integrity often take place very subtly and invisibly. He emphasised the need to make (junior) researchers aware of which steps they should take if they suspect integrity problems in their environment. ‘First of all, raise the issue with your line manager. If that is not possible, then a talk with a confidential adviser may help’, was a suggestion from another participant.
NWO-I is serious about making people aware of this issue: there will be a follow-up to this webinar, preferably in the form of interactive meetings with a tailored programme at each individual institute. For this, we need the help of our own researchers, ambassadors who can take over the baton from Wijers within their own institute. In the coming period, NWO-I will therefore approach scientists with the question of whether they are willing to contribute to communication and discussion about scientific integrity. Meanwhile, if you have any ideas or questions about this theme, then please send an email to Arian Visser, a.visser@nwo-i.nl.
Netherlands Code of Conduct for Research Integrity
NWO-I follows the Netherlands Code of Conduct for Research Integrity 2018. NWO-I has its own Scientific Integrity NWO Institutes Complaints Procedure, which applies to complaints about (suspected) violations of scientific integrity by an NWO-I employee. You can submit these complaints to the Scientific Integrity Desk via meldpuntWI-NWO-I@nwo-i.nl. For more information, visit the NWO-I website.
Newsletter Inside NWO-I, June 2021