In 2012 Universities UK published the Concordat to Support Research Integrity.
As a signatory, the University of Plymouth is committed to maintain and promote the highest standards of integrity and probity in scientific research.
As a condition of funding, the Higher Education Funding Council for England requires that the University demonstrates compliance in the form of an annual assurance statement, which is subject to audit.
This activity is implemented by the Research Support and Development team and progress is reported to the Research and Innovation Committee.
The annual statement is addressed to the Board of Governors and provides:
- a summary of actions and activities that have been undertaken to support and strengthen understanding and application of research integrity issues
- assurances that the processes in place for dealing with allegations of misconduct are transparent, robust and fair, and continue to be appropriate to the needs of the organisation
- a high-level statement on any formal investigations of research misconduct that have been undertaken.