CNR Research Ethics and Integrity Committee

The Research Ethics and Integrity Committee is chaired by the President of the CNR. The Committee is an independent body with an advisory role on matters of research ethics, bioethics and biolaw. These include ethical, deontological and juridical issues that fall within the scope of Research Integrity, as it is described in the scientific literature and the main international Charters and Conventions, as well as in the “Guidelines for Research Integrity” produced by the CNR, approved on the 10 June 2015 and updated in 2019.

The main institutional objectives of the Committee are:

1. to provide the President of the CNR with scientific advice on issues falling within the Committee’s competence, particularly in international affairs and relations with similar institutions;

2. to provide consultancy services to the CNR scientific network, consisting in the analysis of ethical and juridical issues of research projects and the compilation of the ethical assessment documents required by funding calls for proposals at a national, European and international level;

3. to evaluate the ethical issues of research projects upon the request of researchers, and release official Ethical Clearances;

4. to provide, by way of the Committee Coordinator and the Scientific Secretariat, ethical and juridical monitoring and/or ethical supervision of research projects carried out within the CNR (Ethics Mentoring), as requested by funding agencies;

5. to elaborate guidance documents, ethical codes, guidelines and opinions concerning ethical issues relating to the scientific disciplinary fields of interest to the CNR;

6. to propose, within the scope of its jurisdiction, criteria, methods and procedures for the evaluation and management of ethical concerns that emerge from the scientific and technological research activities carried out at CNR, as well as for issues pertaining to Research Integrity;

7. to provide preventive technical advice to CNR researchers prior to the submission of scientific articles and research projects, so as to avoid unintentional forms of fabrication/falsification/plagiarism of images/data/texts;

8. to develop and implement a research misconduct prevention and verification plan, and to provide ethics consulting for the management of cases of research misconduct linked to CNR research or teaching staff, or research staff external to the CNR if requested by University Chancellors, Presidents of research bodies or, more generally, by the persons in charge of scientific and technological institutions;

9. to keep researchers updated in the field of research integrity and ethics, as they apply to the specific disciplinary areas of interest to the CNR, through a structured plan that includes periodic training activities held in all CNR local offices;

10. to develop educational and specialized material, organize conferences and seminars as well as outreach and dissemination activities, and provide senior consulting to public institutions;

In 2024, the following meetings are scheduled: 18 April, 13 June, 10-11 October (I National Congress of Ethics and Integrity in Research) and 5 December. Extraordinary meetings may be held, also by telematic means, depending on the needs of the CNR and its researchers.

In its current mandate (2023-2027), the Committee is composed as follows: Maria Chiara Carrozza (President of the CNR and of the Committee), Cinzia Caporale (Coordinator of the Committee - Interdepartmental Center for Research Ethics and Integrity), Massimiliano Atelli (Court of Auditors, Rome), Gian Carlo Blangiardo (University of Milan Bicocca), Gian Vittorio Caprara (Sapienza University of Rome), Marta Cartabia (Honorary President of the Constitutional Court and University of Trento), Carlo Casonato (University of Trento), Elisabetta Cerbai (University of Florence and LENS), Paolo Dario (Sant'Anna Superior University School, Pisa), Laura Deitinger (Assoknowledge, Confindustria SIT, Tecnologici, Rome), Juan Carlos De Martin (Politecnico of Turin), Giuseppe De Rita (Social Investment Studies Centre - CENSIS, Rome), Ombretta Di Giovine (Court of Appeal, Rome), Vincenzo Di Nuoscio (University of Molise) Daniele Fanelli (London School of Economics and Political Science, UK), Giusella Dolores Finocchiaro (University of Bologna), Giovanni Maria Flick (Honorary President of the Constitutional Court, Rome), Silvio Garattini (IRCCS Institute of Pharmacological Research “Mario Negri”, Milan), Louis Godart (Lincei National Academy, Rome), Giuseppe Ippolito (Saint Camillus International University of Health Sciences, Rome), Vittorio Marchis (Politecnico of Turin) Armando Massarenti (Il Sole 24 Ore, Milan), Federica Migliardo (University of Messina and University of Paris-Sud), Demetrio Neri (University of Messina), Laura Palazzani (LUMSA, Rome), Pierdomenico Perata (Sant'Anna Superior University School, Pisa), Oreste Pollicino (Bocconi University, Milan), Angela Santoni (Sapienza University of Rome), Giuseppe Testa (University of Milan, Human Technopole and European Institute of Oncology - IRCCS). (Previous mandates and Honorary Members). (Past mandates and Honorary members).

The Members of the Committee operate as volunteers on an honorary basis (free of charge).

The Committee has its own internal Regulation. For the evaluation of specific issues, the Committee may consult additional experts, selected among the staff of CNR or external to it, and may establish Thematic Workgroups. Two permanent Sub-committees are active in this mandate: (i) Ethical Clearance Sub-committee, which issues official clearances and opinions; (ii) Research Integrity Sub-committee, which carries out the preliminary examination of documents relating to alleged cases of research misconduct.

Operative Units and Secretariats of the Committee

The support structures of the Committee are coordinated by Cinzia Caporale, coordinator of the Committee and of the Interdepartmental Center for Research Ethics and Integrity (cid.ethics@cnr.it). The Scientific Secretariat, headed by Elena Mancini (Interdepartmental Center for Research Ethics and Integrity), supports the activities of the Committee and provides ethical advice to the CNR Scientific Network, including support in the interaction with Ethics Committees for clinical trials and with Animal-Welfare Bodies (see Directive 2010/63/EU). The Secretariat also includes a unit dedicated to the prevention and verification of falsification/fabrication/plagiarism of images/data/texts (Research Integrity Unit) and the unit dedicated to keeping researchers up to date (Research Ethics and Integrity Training Unit). The Technical Secretariat, headed by Giorgia Adamo (Interdepartmental Center for Research Ethics and Integrity), provides technical, organizational and management support to the Committee’s activities. Tiziana Pugliatti (Interdepartmental Center for Research Ethics and Integrity) is responsible for the administrative activities of the Committee.

Cnr Research Ethics and Integrity Committee - Contacts

Address: Via dei Taurini, 19 - 00185 Roma
E-mail: cnr.ethics@cnr.it; Coordinator: cinzia.caporale@cnr.it
Phone: +39 06 4993/2999

For technical advice prior to the submission of scientific articles and research projects relating to the presence of unintentional forms of fabrication, falsification and plagiarism of images/data/texts, or to report a case of alleged research misconduct please contact: integrity@cnr.it (For more information visit the Research Integrity and Misconduct webpage).

The Committee's website is managed by the Interdepartmental Center for Research Ethics and Integrity. Specifically, the contents of the website are curated by Cinzia Caporale and Giorgia Adamo, with the support of Tiziana Ciciotti. Andrea Pompili (ICT office) is in charge of the technical aspects and Emiliano Liberatori provides the English language translations, with the support of Paola Grisanti.