Research activities

Project number: 101094714

Duration: 01.01.2023–31.12.2025

Funding: 311 163 EUR

Lead partner: University of Oslo

Principal inverstigator: Associate Professor of Practical Philosophy Kadri Simm; included from the Centre for Ethics Methodologist-Trainer of Research Ethics Anu Tammeleht

Ethics and integrity are key dimensions of excellence in research and crucial for public trust in science. BEYOND will reinforce efforts to promote adherence to the highest standards of research ethics and integrity (RE/RI) and prevent research misconduct (RM) by developing and disseminating regulatory and educational interventions that elucidate institutional and individual responsibilities for ensuring and fostering research environments conducive to ethical research. To that end, BEYOND will adopt a complex ecosystemic perspective on research ethics and integrity that recognizes the multiple responsibilities of researchers and other stakeholders to enrich the overly simplistic Bad Apples approach that underpins most existing measures to prevent research misconduct.

BEYOND will EXPLORE the existing literature on behavioural ethics and moral psychology as well as the socio-economic consequences of research misconduct and ENGAGE all involved stakeholders in a public consultation. To GUIDE and EQUIP all stakeholders in the research ecosystem, BEYOND will utilize this knowledge to develop

1. psychologically informed contextual interventions to promote RE/RI and prevent RM from the perspective of individual and institutional responsibilities;
2. methodologies to measure the short-, medium- and long-term impact of RE/RI trainings on attitudes and behaviours of students and researchers;
3. a best practice manual and guidelines to supplement standard operating procedures from a complex research ecosystemic perspective as well as a 2030 roadmap towards improving the RE/RI culture and
4. new training materials and tools to supplement existing educational efforts.

BEYOND will mobilize all stakeholders via the three thematic networks involved in the consortium (ENRIO, EUREC, The Guild) and the stakeholder advisory board to ensure widespread dissemination of results and facilitate their institutional uptake and embedding.

Project number: 101094816

Duration: 01.06.2023–31.05.2026

Funding: 416 375 EUR

Lead partner: Vytautas Magnus University (VMU)

Principal investigator: Halliki Harro-Loit, Professor of Journalism at the University of Tartu

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Project description

Digital communication enormously expands the number of ways people can interact and engage, but also challenges European societies by spread of conflict instigation, hate speech, and increasing amount of disinformation. The many initiators of destructive communication acts are various actors with diverse interests, who are not bound by either professional or ethical rules or obligations to distribute truthful information or stand for its reliability. The existing framework of public communication does not empower citizens to influence the ways the media institutions and actors operate in European democracies.

DIACOMET contributes to the advancement of ethical and accountable communication by fostering capacity building for civic resilience against information distortions and promoting civic accountability. Therefore, DIACOMET aims to generate a concept of dialogic communication ethics (DCE), which would provide a framework for an inclusive model of accountability mechanisms that combine media accountability (the level of organisations) with civic accountability (the level of citizens) and is guided by a Civic Code of Good Communication Conduct (CGC) (a new type of code of communication ethics).

The DIACOMET proposal explicitly addresses the aims of the Horizon Europe Culture, creativity and inclusive society Work Programme, the Topic, the Call and the European Democracy Action Plan through:

1. Analysis of the role of dialogic communication in existing ethics codes and guidelines and formulation of the CGC.

2. A novel concept of inclusive civic accountability bodies and a tested accountability mechanism.

3. An interactive ‘dilemma game’ and a forum for learning and discussion.

DIACOMET proposes to establish a European network of civic accountability bodies for supporting individuals, groups and organizations to implement the CGC, and to assist in managing ethical issues emerging in public communication.