LS25 / Guidelines for good scientific practice and ethics

Good scientific practice

Compliance with the rules for good scientific practice, including the observance of ethical aspects in research, is mandatory. This pertains to the application process and, in case of funding, the research work.

• WWTF is member of the Austrian Agency for Research Integrity (OeAWI) and thus committed to their standards for good scientific practice. Hence, applicants must comply to OeAWI standards 
• In case of suspected scientific misconduct, WWTF will employ the ombudsperson at the applicant’s institution or request OeAWI to investigate the case.
• Based on the outcome of investigations by the ombudsperson or OeAWI, WWTF reserves the right to exclude the applicants and the application from the involved and future calls.

Ethical aspects

Project proposals may include ethical aspects that require the approval from an ethics committee/institutional review board. Please consider WWTF’s requirements regarding ethical aspects at the different stages of the call and, if applicable, upon the selection of a project for funding.

• IfIn the approvalshort fromproposal, applicants provide a brief statement regarding the ethicsethical committee/institutionalaspects reviewof boardthe project. Applicants must indicate whether a formal ethical approval is required for the plannedproposed projectwork.
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• Upon invitation to submit a full proposal, applicants must beprovide clearlya statedmore atdetailed description of the shortethical proposalaspects stage.of Thethe proposed work. If available, the ethical approval (“Votum”)final or preliminary) or confirmation of submission of an ethical approval should be submitted. If an ethical approval for the proposed work has yet not been granted, applicants must provide a timeline and an explanation of the feasibility of obtaining the necessary ethical approvals. In the latter case, applicants commit themselves to obtaining the required permits to commence the project in a timely manner, should it be selected for funding.
• Upon selection for funding, submission of the final ethical approvals to WWTF is a prerequisite for the funding contract. As projects must start no later than 6 months after funding approval, grantees must ensure that ethical approvals are submitted onlineto withWWTF in time for the funding contract to be concluded.

Please note that the feasibility of obtaining the required ethical approval will be considered during the evaluation of the full proposal. Insufficient

Shoulddemonstration itof notthe be possibleability to obtain ethical approvals within a finaltimely ethicalmanner approvalmay before the full proposal deadline due to reasons which are beyond the control of the applicant, the applicant must explain the reasonsresult in the applicationproject andbeing sendexcluded the preliminary approval to the responsible call manager beforeby the jury meeting.panel.

Please note the following requirements regarding ethical approvals for WWTF-funded projects.

• The approval by the ethics committee should be specific for the planned WWTF project;project. therefore,Therefore, the title of the project should be the same as on the approval (minor deviations are possible). If the title of the approved research differs significantly from the proposed project, a statement must be provided (in the online Funding Portal), confirming that the approval will cover the planned research.
• If the main applicant for the ethical approval is not a core team member (i.e., PI&C or co-PI) of the WWTF proposal, a clear statement must be included in the proposal, in which a core team member confirms that he/she is authorized to conduct the planned research within this ethical approval.
• If the planned research is covered by an existing approval, the applicants must submit the extension of the approval (“Verlängerung der Gültigkeit des Votums”). The above also applies for extensions.

Non-compliance will result in the rejection of the proposal on formal grounds.