ABOUT SIMPLIFY
- About SIMPLIFY
Research activities must respect human dignity, comply with good scientific practices, and demonstrate responsibility toward society and the environment. While in the European Research Area (ERA) comprehensive integrity and ethical guidelines exist from the EU, the Council of Europe, and international organisations (such as the WHO and ICH), research and funding institutions frequently face challenges in implementing them effectively.
Currently, EU Member States are at varying stages of creating national frameworks, resulting in a fragmented landscape of standards. This fragmentation makes it difficult to adapt existing rules to emerging issues, such as digital and green transformations, trustworthy AI, and ethics review reforms, while simultaneously safeguarding academic freedom.
SIMPLIFY directly addresses this implementation gap by promoting simplification and effective integration of Research Ethics (RE) and Research Integrity (RI) across Europe. Operating as a sustainable, community-oriented platform under ERA Action 18, the project uses participatory activities and stakeholder reflection to transform complex RE/RI instruments into adaptable, context-sensitive roadmaps.
Supported by five leading European networks (EUREC, ENRIO, ALLEA, EARMA, ENAI) and The Embassy of Good Science, SIMPLIFY provides institutions with modular, tested, and validated resources to embed high-standard ethical and integrity compliance into daily practice.
- OUR PROPOSAL
Objectives
1.
Synergise
Community Building
Establishing a cross-sectoral European Community of Practice (CoP), expanding peer-learning networks, and initiating structured policy dialogues to connect local institutions with the ERA Forum.
2.
Scan
Readiness Mapping
Systematically documenting existing institutional structures, national legal frameworks, and research management cultures across Europe to identify barriers, operational gaps, and baseline maturity levels.
3.
Simplify
Guidance
Consolidating and updating standard operating procedures (SOPs) and guidelines to address contemporary technological, including artificial intelligence, research security, and international collaboration.
4.
Skill
Training
Launching a specialised Train-the-Trainer framework across institutions to independently sustain local uptake.
5.
Sustain
Workflow Piloting
Testing updated resources inside real institutional workflows to gather evidence on feasibility, resource needs, necessary organisational changes, and increase institutional ethics and integrity self-sustainability.