UKRIO welcomes the creation of the UK CORI

The UK Research Integrity Office welcomes the creation of the UK Committee on Research Integrity. The UK research community has made considerable progress on research integrity in recent years, but there is no room for complacency. We welcome UK CORI’s commitment to working with UKRIO and other bodies, avoiding duplication of effort, and look forward to collaborating on the issues that matter to the research community and the public.

Research integrity safeguards quality and ethical standards, and is essential to retain the public’s trust, enhance the UK’s international reputation, and ensure the safety and wellbeing of research participants. The creation of UK CORI was recommended by the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee in its 2018 report into research integrity. The Committee also recommended that UKRIO, as part of its continuing work, should advise on the creation of UK CORI and our expertise has helped shape this new body.

Professor Sir Ian Boyd, Chair of UKRIO, said: “We welcome the creation of UK CORI and look forward to working with it on key issues. In line with the recommendations of the Science and Technology Committee, UKRIO’s activities and those of UK CORI will complement each other, with UKRIO’s focus remaining on sharing best practice, providing independent, practical and proportionate support for researchers, research organisations and the public, and using the expertise we have accrued since our inception in 2006 to inform UK and international policy and initiatives.”

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NOTES FOR EDITORS

  1. The UK Research Integrity Office (UKRIO) is an independent charity, offering support to the public, researchers and organisations to further good practice in research. We pursue these aims through our publications on research practice, the support and services we provide to organisations, our education and training activities, and by providing expert guidance in response to requests for assistance. Since 2006, UKRIO has provided independent, expert and confidential support across all research disciplines, from the arts and humanities to the life sciences. We cover all research sectors: higher education, the NHS, private sector and charities. For further information, please visit ukrio.org.
  2. The House of Commons Science and Technology Committee published its report on research integrity in 2018. It explored the scope and impact of problems arising from mistakes, questionable behaviours and misconduct in research, and what might be done to address these issues. The report, available on the Committee’s website, praised the work of UKRIO, stating “UKRIO should continue its work in providing advice on research integrity and sharing best practice” and that “[t]he default assumption for all universities should be that they are subscribers to UKRIO.”
  3. The UK Committee on Research Integrity (UK CORI) is being convened by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) to promote and support research integrity across the research sector. It is being established with a commitment to ongoing dialogue across the sector, partnership working with key bodies such as UKRIO and the Concordat to Support Research Integrity Signatories Group, and working to maintain a high integrity research culture.