2030 Roadmap for Improving Institutional Research Cultures to Strengthen Research Ethics and Integrity in Europe
From The Embassy of Good Science
Resources2030 Roadmap for Improving Institutional Research Cultures to Strengthen Research Ethics and Integrity in Europe
Related Initiative
What is this about?
The BEYOND 2030 Roadmap is a strategic plan for improving research ethics and research integrity (RE/RI) and reducing research misconduct (RM) and contestable research practices (CRPs) by 2030. It responds to emerging challenges such as selective reporting, inappropriate authorship, poor data management, and misuse of AI tools. The Roadmap is organised around four main pillars: Research Governance Reform, Research Culture Transformation, Evolving RE/RI Education and Research, and Enhancing Public Trust and Societal Impact. It provides recommendations and actions for different stakeholders across three stages: establishing reforms by 2027, embedding and scaling them by 2028, and achieving mature, sustainable systems by 2030. The Roadmap was developed from 107 recommendations drawn from 12 BEYOND project deliverables and validated by the project’s Stakeholder Advisory Board.
Why is this important?
The Roadmap is important because it provides a long-term, practical direction for strengthening research integrity and reducing research misconduct. Rather than focusing only on individual wrongdoing, it addresses the wider research system, including governance, organisational culture, incentives, education, monitoring, reporting, and public trust. Its recommendations aim to establish secure whistleblowing systems, fair and transparent processes for handling misconduct, better research integrity training, stronger monitoring, and incentives that encourage responsible research. The Roadmap is also important because it provides a structured timeline for change, helping institutions move from establishing reforms to embedding them and eventually making them sustainable. By 2030, its intended outcomes include reducing misconduct and contestable research practices, improving investigations and training, strengthening whistleblower protection, and increasing public trust in science and academic research.
