iRECs: improving Research Ethics Expertise and Competences to Ensure Reliability and Trust in Science

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The research ethics process is facing increasing challenges at a global level: new and emerging technologies present challenges to ethics reviewers who may be unskilled in the relevant fields; increased internationalisation of research has led to fears of ethics dumping; and there is a lack of standardisation across Europe and the world. A key objective of national and EU research policy is to ensure compliance with the highest standards of research ethics. Given the impact of research on society, in terms of potential to generate innovative solutions to problems, and yet with the associated risk of harm, rigorous ethical research conduct is essential to ensure public trust in the scientific endeavour. iRECS will address these problems in four ways. First, it will scan and map existing needs raised by new and emerging technologies in European and global research ethics communities. Second, it will produce and implement training materials for European and global audiences in research ethics communities. Third, it will conduct and permanently establish training programmes. Fourth, it will propose adaptations to the research ethics process in Europe. Through a unique blend of expertise, global partners and the involvement of European research ethics networks as partners or members of the Stakeholder Advisory Board, iRECS will develop a fresh awareness of research ethics and sustainable, multi-purpose, multi-language interactive training programmes for different users. The project thus extends ENERI and the Embassy of Good Science into a horizontal community of research ethics practitioners, policy makers and other key stakeholders