Sprawozdanie z działalności Komisji do Spraw Etyki w Nauce w 2020 roku

Abstrakt

The commission held 8 meetings using a hybrid approach to its work (remote work as well as work on-premises). CRI has pointed to shortcomings of remote work in science and education, where direct contacts between members of academic community assure optimal envirnment for achieving highest standards of research and teaching. Moreover, focusing the vast majority of research on COVID-related projects endangers progress in other scientific disciplines while
an exaggerated pressure for the fast development of new anti-COVID medications may cause lowering of standards used to evaluate research results. CRI has expressed its concern caused by activities of Ministry of Education and Science related to s.c. „freedom package” – a planned amendments to Act on Higher Education and Science. CRI believes that the proposed changes may endanger academic freedom and contribute to dissemination of knowledge not based on solid scientific grounds. Following consultations with the entire Polish academic and scientific community CRI has amended its Code of Conduct for Research Integrity and published its updated version (approved by General Assembly of PAS on 25 June 2020). The new version addresses in a more detail the issue of conflict of interest (CoI). CRI believes that the issue of CoI is of growing importance in science, medicine and other aspects of human activities.  Following the examples of leading universities  and research institutions CRI has introduced an ethical requirement to report – on an annual basis – the existing CoI to university/research institute administration for possible instructions informing if and how such existing CoI need to be adjusted.