Tri-Agency Framework: Responsible Conduct of Research (2021), Canadian Institutes of Health Research Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada
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Tri-Agency Framework: Responsible Conduct of Research (2021), Canadian Institutes of Health Research Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada
What is this about?
The Tri-Agency Framework: Responsible Conduct of Research (2021), authored by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, serves as Canada’s national guideline for research integrity. While targeted at Canadian researchers and institutions receiving Tri-Agency funding, its principles align with international standards, supporting researcher mobility and comparability of practices across borders. The framework emphasizes honesty, accountability, professional courtesy, and stewardship, linking these to reproducibility, credibility, and public trust. It outlines responsibilities of researchers, institutions, funders, and journals across the research cycle, including authorship, citation, data transparency, conflict-of-interest management, responsible supervision, and fair peer review. It also defines misconduct, provides mechanisms for investigating breaches, and stresses proportional sanctions with educational value. By integrating training, emerging issues such as open science and digital tools, and equity and diversity as cross-cutting themes, the framework functions as both policy and practical handbook.
Why is this important?
Tri-Agency Framework: Responsible Conduct of Research distils national expectations for research integrity in Canada and clarifies what researchers and institutions in Canada (but also researchers funded by Tri-Agency funding) need to do to comply. It reduces ambiguity, aligns local practice with international norms, and offers actionable steps that improve transparency, reproducibility, and equitable access. For policy leads, it is a benchmark; for authors and administrators, it is a practical checklist. Published by Canadian Institutes of Health Research Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada in 2021, it is a credible reference to cite in institutional policies, training, and grant documentation.
