The BEST programme will take into account both the need to ensure freedom of research for the participating fellows and the need to develop projects in the interest of the physical and moral integrity of individuals.

Thorough ethical review is an integral part of all scientific research and is needed, not only to respect the legal framework, but also to enhance the quality of research. Ethical review of all proposals will be done in line with Horizon 2020 guidance on research ethics and is mandatory for all applications.

Within IBEC, all research activities respect fundamental ethical principles, as well as national legislation, relevant EU legislation and standards, international conventions and directives, and the opinions of the European Group on Ethics and Protection of Animals (e.g. 99/167/EC: Council Decision of 25/1/99 and EC Directive 86/609). These principles include the need to ensure the freedom of research and the need to protect the physical and moral integrity of individual and the welfare of animals. National and local committees that judge the ethical aspects of the intended experiments have to give their explicit approval before any experiment starts.

During the application stage, candidates will be required to fill in the Ethical Issues Table and if any ethical issues arise, the proposal will be subject to a complete Ethics screening that will assess the ethical implication for the propose research and assess whether they have been appropriately addressed in the work plan.

When needed, the applicant, with the support from the project manager of the research groups where they will be placed, will prepare all ethics-related documents mandatory under EU or national legislation and apply for the approval of the corresponding Ethics Committee.

Such documents will be submitted to the REA before starting any ethically sensitive experiment.

 

Download the BEST ethical issues table here.