Below, please find (1) the FWF’s general guide for all researchers, (2) our procedures in the event of a suspected violation of the guidelines for good research practice, (3) some statistics on suspected violations of the guidelines for good research practice, and (4) an affirmation of our commitment to responsible animal testing in research and education. The FWF has also published a set of guidelines on Safety & Diversity in Research (5).
In October 2020, the Austrian University Conference developed Guidelines for the Standards of Good Scientific Practice and the Principles of Research Ethics. These guidelines are intended as a guide for researchers in all disciplines, meaning that they also apply to all FWF applicants. Part 1 of the guidelines deals with general principles of research integrity and research ethics. Part 2 lists the various ethics committees and research integrity committees in Austria. Part 3 describes the fields of action for good scientific practice and research ethics and offers some best practice examples.
In research applications to the FWF, applicants are asked to describe all potential ethical, safety-related, or regulatory aspects of their proposal and how they plan to handle them. They are asked to focus particularly on the benefits and any potential stressors in the experiments and the effects these may have on research subjects. This should be addressed briefly even if the project does not raise any such concerns.
Applicants must also comply with the guidelines for good scientific practice of the Austrian Agency for Research Integrity (OeAWI) when submitting the application and carrying out the project.
In the event of a suspected violation of the guidelines on good scientific practice, the FWF will initiate an investigation. This investigation serves both to penalize actual violations according to the existing rules and to protect researchers from unfounded accusations.
The FWF has established a whistleblower system for reporting suspected violations; reports can also be made anonymously.
The FWF documents all suspected cases and publishes the statistics in anonymized form. Between January 1, 2008 and December 31, 2023, a total of 91 suspected cases in connection with persons who submitted research applications to the FWF or were involved in them were reported, out of more than 38,000 applications decided upon during this period.
Finally, the FWF is a signatory of the Commitment to responsible animal testing in research and education at Austrian universities and non-university research institutions, which is supported by numerous institutions.