Responsible Conduct of Research

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) and SSHRC (“the agencies”) are committed to fostering and maintaining an environment that supports and promotes the responsible conduct of research.

As a part of meeting this commitment, the agencies launched the Tri-Agency Framework: Responsible Conduct of Research (“the Framework”), which describes agency policies and requirements related to applying for and managing agency funds, performing research, and disseminating results. It also outlines the process that institutions and agencies follow in the event of an allegation of a breach of agency policy.

The Framework includes a new requirement that applicants and co-applicants must consent that, in the event that they are found to have committed a serious breach of agency policy, the agency may publicly disclose any information relevant to the breach that is in the public interest, including their name, the nature of the breach, the institution at which they were employed at the time of the breach, the institution at which they are currently employed, and the recourse imposed against them. For more information, see the Tri-Agency Statement: Consent to Disclosure of Personal Information.

To ensure a coherent and uniform approach to promoting the responsible conduct of research and to addressing allegations of breaches of agency policies, the agencies have established the Panel on Responsible Conduct of Research, responsible for governing and implementing the Framework, with support from the Secretariat on Responsible Conduct of Research (formerly the Secretariat on Research Ethics).

The Framework replaces the previous integrity policy and related documents, including the Tri-Agency Policy Statement: Integrity in Research and Scholarship (TCPS-I, 1994), the Framework for Tri-Council Review of Institutional Policies Dealing with Integrity in Research (1996) and the Tri-Agency Process for Addressing Allegations of Non-compliance with Tri-Agency Policies (2010).

For more information, or to report a possible breach of agency policy, please contact the Secretariat on Responsible Conduct of Research.


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