VRG26 / Good scientific practice and ethics

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 actual 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.

Research may include ethical aspects that require the approval from an ethics committee/institutional review board.

• If the candidate states, that approval from the ethics committee/institutional review board is required for the planned project, the approval (“Votum”) must be submitted to WWTF in due time. The process of obtaining ethical approval shall start right after the VRG candidate has started their position at the new host institution in Vienna.
• The approval by the ethics committee should be specific for the planned WWTF project; 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 the VRG leader, a clear statement must be included in the proposal, in which the VRG leader 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.