ENRIO and ALLEA Hold
Joint Webinar on
Delineating Research Integrity

15. September 2026

On 10 September 2026, ALLEA and ENRIO brought together researchers, policymakers, and stakeholders to explore a shared conceptual framework for research integrity across Europe. The full recording is now available.

On 10 September 2026, ALLEA and the European Network of Research Integrity Offices (ENRIO) held a joint webinar, “Delineating Research Integrity: Towards a Common Understanding of Scope and Definitions,” exploring a question central to research policy across Europe: what exactly does research integrity encompass, and do we share a common understanding of its scope, concepts, and boundaries?

Delineating Research Integrity

Opening the session, ALLEA thanked ENRIO President Bert Seghers and the ENRIO team for their partnership in convening the discussion, as well as the SIMPLIFY project partners for their support. As the welcome remarks noted, “research integrity” is a term everyone uses, yet one whose scope and boundaries are surprisingly difficult to pin down, which is precisely why a shared conceptual framework matters.

Research integrity has long been a priority of ALLEA’s work, carried forward through its Research Ethics and Integrity Council and its oversight of the forthcoming revision of the European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity. Since its last edition, published in 2023, the Code has been translated into 25 European and non-European languages, a feat which stands as a testament to how widely it is used, and to why getting core concepts and definitions right carries real weight across very different national and institutional contexts.

ALLEA and ENRIO joint webinar, “Delineating Research Integrity: Towards a Common Understanding of Scope and Definitions”

Consistency across frameworks

The webinar, promoted by the Horizon Europe SIMPLIFY project, came at a significant moment for both organisations. As ALLEA revises the Code, it is confronting the same question addressed by ENRIO’s new handbook, “Key Research Integrity Concepts: Interpretations and Recommendations,”: do we actually agree on what falls inside “research integrity,” as opposed to adjacent areas such as research ethics, misconduct, or questionable research practices? Emerging issues like artificial intelligence, research security, funding transparency, and research conducted in poly-crisis contexts are increasingly pushing at the edges of existing definitions, making conceptual clarity more urgent, not less.

European Code of Conduct Timeline

As the discussion made clear, this is not merely an academic exercise in semantics. How research integrity is defined shapes what policies, training, and oversight mechanisms actually cover, and where responsibility sits between researchers, institutions, funders, and policymakers. A shared framework helps ensure consistency as the European Code, national codes, and institutional guidelines continue to evolve — together, rather than drifting apart.

Together with key stakeholders, participants explored:

  • What is the scope of research integrity?
  • How should principles, concepts, and practices relate to one another?
  • Why does a common understanding matter for research integrity policies and practice?
  • How can different stakeholders apply a shared conceptual framework?

Program and closing reflections

Welcome and Introduction
Paweł Rowiński & Bert Seghers, Presidents of ALLEA and ENRIO

Launching the ENRIO Handbook on Key Concepts in Research Integrity
Helene Ingierd & Loreta Tauginienė, Co-Chairs of the ENRIO Working Group

Research Integrity and the European Code of Conduct
Maura Hiney, Chair of ALLEA’s Research Ethics & Integrity Council

Stakeholder Reflections
Stephanie Neave, UKRIO
Jeroen de Ridder, Dutch Code of Conduct for Research Integrity 2027
Dirk Lanzerath, Bonn University and EUREC
Edwin Charles Constable, Swiss Academy of Sciences and the Arts

Questions and Discussion

Closing Remarks
Lisa Diependaele, DG RTD, European Commission

In closing, ALLEA again thanked ENRIO for its collaboration, highlighting the timely alignment between the Code’s revision and the launch of ENRIO’s new Handbook: two parallel efforts converging on the same underlying question. The session closed with thanks to all attendees, with organisers underlining that the aim throughout was genuine dialogue among participants, not a one-way presentation.

The webinar was organised jointly by ENRIO and ALLEA, and promoted by the Horizon Europe SIMPLIFY project.

You can watch the full recording here: ENRIO-ALLEA Webinar: Delineating Research Integrity

Or watch below here: