Ethics in H2020 & Horizon Europe
Ethics is a fundamental and integral part of all research activities funded by the EU. Ethical research conduct implies the application of fundamental ethical principles and legislation to scientific research in all possible domains of research. Compliance with ethical principles, guidelines and legal frameworks is seen as pivotal to achieve real research excellence.
Compliance basics
All research and innovation activities carried out under Horizon 2020 must comply with ethical principles and relevant national, Union and international legislation, including the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, and the European Convention on Human Rights and its Supplementary Protocols.
Human Participants and human data
If your research involves human participants, then particular attention should be paid to the GDPR and the principle of proportionality; the right to privacy; the right to the protection of personal data; the right to the physical and mental integrity of a person; the right to non-discrimination; and the need to ensure high levels of human health protection.
The Ethics Self-Assessment
When applying for European funding, at the application stage, you are required to conduct an ‘Ethics Self-assessment’ starting with the completion of an ‘Ethics Issues Table’. This Ethics Self-Assessment is where you make a thorough ethical evaluation from the conceptual stage of your proposal not only to respect the principles, guidelines and legal framework but also to enhance the quality of the research. The purpose is to ensure full compliance with EU norms and regulations regarding the due respect to humans, animals, plants and environment and to maximize the benefits and minimize risks and harms while considering the needs associated with each research project.
The Ethics Self-Assessment you prepare should focus on:
a) Identification of the ethical issues within the research using the Ethics Issues Table in the application.
b) Discussion of the ethical aspects of the research objectives, methodology and potential impact, and how you will comply with ethical rules, standards, relevant European legislation, international conventions and declarations, national authorisations and ethics approvals, and proportionality of the research methods.
c) You need to demonstrate awareness of the ethical aspects and social impact of their planned research.
d) Identify all aspects that require ethical approval and at what level (e.g.national level) with regards to (human participation, data protection, the conduct of clinical trials and animal welfare etc) and name the relevant authorising bodies/institutions.
e) The following areas should be discussed as relevant to your research project:
- Use of Human Embryos/Foetuses
- Involvement of Human Beings
- Use of Human Cells/Tissues
- Protection of Personal Data
- Use of Animals
- Non-EU countries
- Environment, Health and Safety
- Dual Use
- Exclusive focus on Civil Applications
- Misuse
Information can be found at the following links:
Rules & codes of conduct:
General guidance:
- How to complete your ethics self-assessment _(essential reading!)
- Ethics and data protection
- Ethics in “Science with and for society.”
- Ethics in Social Science and Humanities
- Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS)
Specific guidance:
For specific guidance related to the completion of your ethics self-assessment or a review of your draft ethics self-assessment contact Stephanie O’Connor, ORI, by phone at 01 402 2373 or email at sloconnor@rcsi.ie.