All Research Strategy Office Governance courses

These e-learning modules are available via the InforMEA e-learning platform. Information and guidance on ABS and Nagoya Protocol webpage is available on the University website.

Introduction to Access and Benefit Sharing(ABS)
This course provides an introduction to access and benefit-sharing of genetic resource that originate from overseas.
Sign up on the InforeMEA platform. Further details about the syllabus information are available here.

Introductory Course to the Nagoya Protocol
This course provides an introduction to the major components of the Nagoya Protocol.
Please see the syllabus for further details and sign up on the InforeMEA platform.

If you wish, you can take a quiz at the end of the both courses to assess your learning progress. You are required to answer at least 80% of the assessment questions correctly in order to obtain a course certificate.

Authorship is fundamental to research integrity and therefore to quality and trust in research. It defines both who carried out the research (credit) and who takes public responsibility for the reliability of that research.

Despite – or perhaps because of – its essential importance to research, determining who should or shouldn’t be an author is not always straightforward, especially in research collaborations or multi-disciplinary research projects. Criteria and standards for research can be challenging to apply in practice and reaching a consensus with colleagues on who qualifies for authorship can be a fraught process.

This session will introduce researchers to key concepts in authorship in research publications. It will explore the implications of this vital topic for both individual researchers and for research projects. The webinar will discuss how early consideration of authorship can mitigate against problems and highlight sources of help for researchers who encounter authorship disputes.

Book your place on the UKRIO website here

This is the third of four training webinars from the UK Research Integrity Office in 2024-25 on topics related to research integrity: Authorship in research publications.

Session 2 an introduction to ethical considerations in research is the second webinar in the 2024-2025 UKRIO webinar series exclusive for subscriber institutions.

Research offers considerable benefits for society and at the same time, potential harms. Accordingly, it is essential to explore the ethical considerations arising from research, from the design stage onwards, throughout the entire life cycle of the study. Discussions of ethics in research can focus on processes for ethical review of proposed projects, but this is just one part of a greater whole: cultivating and maintaining high standards of research ethics, actively and continuously.

This session will introduce researchers to key concepts in research ethics and explore how ethical considerations can arise. It will discuss how proactive engagement with ethical issues – including reflecting on potential unintended consequences of research - helps to maximise benefits for individuals, wider society and the environment, and mitigates against possible harms and risk.

It will also describe processes for seeking an ethical opinion on research projects and sources of help available to researchers – both during the ethical review process and when unexpected situations arise during the course of the research.

Book your place on the UKRIO website here

The UK has an obligation to ensure that goods, technology or software that can be used for a military purpose or contribute towards the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction are not exported into the wrong hands. This may affect research data, research equipment or publications, even in areas that have no intended military application. This training course provides an overview of export control legislations and how it may impact academic research, collaborations and outputs.

Research integrity: an introduction to research integrity and research culture is the 2024-2025 UKRIO webinar series exclusive for subscriber institutions.

Session 1 Introduction to Research Integrity

What is research integrity? What does it mean to you?

How straightforward is it to achieve good research practice? What does ‘good’ research look like and what are the challenges involved? What does a good research environment look like and how can organisational culture help – or harm – research quality?

The standards for research seem to be fairly straightforward and easy to achieve: be honest about your data and results, take care of research participants, and don’t engage in questionable practices, even accidentally.

James Parry, Chief Innovation Officer of UKRIO, will explore whether these assumptions are correct or if we need to think a bit more about what ethics and integrity mean for our research. What impact can ‘research culture’ – the environment and ethos of research organisations – have on the quality and ethical standards of research? Do incentives and competition improve the conduct of research or increase mistakes and other problems?

The session will look at the challenges involved in ensuring that research is high quality and of high ethical standards, discuss the pressures faced by researchers, and explore what researchers and organisations can do to safeguard and enhance good research practice. This exclusive session for staff and research students at UKRIO subscriber organisations will look at the challenges involved in ensuring that research is high quality and of high ethical standards, discuss the pressures faced by researchers, and explore what researchers and organisations can do to safeguard and enhance good research practice.

Book your place on the UKRIO website here

Details regarding the subsequent webinars in this series can be found here

This e-learning module is available via the HRA e-learning platform. It explains the regulations and considerations relating to mental capacity and research. It is aimed at those involved in designing or undertaking, supporting or reviewing research, and takes account of research seeking to include adults lacking capacity as well as research where some participants may lack capacity or lose capacity.

This module provides an overview of human tissue legislation in the UK; good practice and practical tips for compliance. It was developed by the MRC in consultation with the Human Tissue Authority and others.

Sign up here: https://bygsystems.net/mrcrsc-lms/course/view.php?id=42

MRC Certificate

• If you would like download a certificate of course completion, you may take the relevant MRC assessement
• The assessments consist of 10 randomly generated questions; the pass mark is 70%.
• You may repeat the assessment as many times as you wish. A certificate can be printed when you pass the assessment.

• Research and human tissue legislation assessment - England, Wales & Northern Ireland
• Research and human tissue legislation assessment - Scotland

Research integrity is core to the requirements of being a research leader, producing excellent research and helping others do the same. This session will, through a mixture of presentation, discussion and case studies, explore the:

1. University's expectations as regards integrity & how research leaders can apply this in their own work
2. approaches that research leaders can use to support their teams and colleagues to meet the highest standards
3. the issues of research integrity and misconduct, including the challenges posed by authorship.

The course will be delivered by the Research Governance and Integrity Team in the Research Strategy Office.

This self-paced online course provides an introduction to principles of responsible research and innovation. Responsible research and innovation (RRI) is an approach that anticipates and assesses potential implications and societal expectations with regard to research and innovation. It includes, but goes beyond, considerations of ethics, public engagement, risk and regulation.

UKRIO holds regular webinars on research integrity and related issues. In their previous webinar series, speakers from UKRIO and invited experts explore topics such as: publication ethics and authorship; research data; implementation of the Concordat to Support Research Integrity; research ethics; consent in research; and research integrity training.

Selected presentations and recordings (where available) from previous UKRIO webinars are available on the UKRIO website and on their YouTube channel

Past webinars videos and slides

1. Co-production: participant and stakeholder involvement in research – 28 June 2023
2. Trusted Research – 19 April 2023
3. Research Culture: Environments & Accountability, in association with GuildHE – 22 February 2023
4. An Introduction to Research Integrity – 7 December 2022
5. EASE/UKRIO Peer Review Week webinar: How Can Peer Review Support Research Integrity? – 21 September 2022
6. Equality, Diversity & Inclusion in the Research Environment – 20 April 2022
7. Research Integrity in Practice Research – 9 February 2022
8. An Introduction to Research Integrity – 1 December 2021
9. Alternative Methods of Publishing – 4 November 2021
10. Recognising & Rewarding Responsible Research Practice – 21 July 2021
11. An Introduction to Research Integrity – 21 April 2021
12. Research Involving Animals – 24 February 2021
13. Good research practice from the publishers’ perspective – 20 January 2021
14. Research Culture – 9 December 2020
15. Data Sharing and Ethics – 11 November 2020
16. Clinical Trials – 14 October 2020
17. Consent – 9 September 2020
18. Research Ethics – 5 August 2020
19. Research Integrity: a landscape study – 8 July 2020
20. Publication Ethics – 10 June 2020
21. Sector Update – 6 May 2020

You don't need to sign up here to watch the recorded webinars. If you sign up here, this will be recorded on the training website.

UKRIO holds regular webinars on research integrity and related issues. In their webinar series, speakers from UKRIO and invited experts explore topics such as: publication ethics and authorship; research data; implementation of the Concordat to Support Research Integrity; research ethics; consent in research; and research integrity training.

UKRIO webinars are open to all and free to attend. The upcoming webinars are listed below. For the latest information on these free events and sign-up, please check the UKRIO website.

Upcoming UKRIO webinars

In addition, you may also wish to attend one of the UKRIO subscriber-exclusive webinars. Register for upcoming webinars or access the recordings of past webinars below:

1. Introduction to Research Integrity - sign up here or watch the webinar recording
2. Ethical considerations in research - sign up here or watch the webinar recording
3. Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI)
4. Authorship in research publications (10am 19th Match)

What is research integrity? What does it mean to you?

How straightforward is it to achieve good research practice? What does ‘good’ research look like and what are the challenges involved? What does a good research environment look like and how can organisational culture help – or harm – research quality?

The standards for research seem to be fairly straightforward and easy to achieve: be honest about your data and results, take care of research participants, and don’t engage in questionable practices, even accidentally.

James Parry, Chief Innovation Officer of UKRIO, will explore whether these assumptions are correct or if we need to think a bit more about what ethics and integrity mean for our research. What impact can ‘research culture’ – the environment and ethos of research organisations – have on the quality and ethical standards of research? Do incentives and competition improve the conduct of research or increase mistakes and other problems?

The session will look at the challenges involved in ensuring that research is high quality and of high ethical standards, discuss the pressures faced by researchers, and explore what researchers and organisations can do to safeguard and enhance good research practice. This exclusive session for staff and research students at UKRIO subscriber organisations will look at the challenges involved in ensuring that research is high quality and of high ethical standards, discuss the pressures faced by researchers, and explore what researchers and organisations can do to safeguard and enhance good research practice.

Session 2 an introduction to ethical considerations in research is the second webinar in the 2024-2025 UKRIO webinar series exclusive for subscriber institutions.

Research offers considerable benefits for society and at the same time, potential harms. Accordingly, it is essential to explore the ethical considerations arising from research, from the design stage onwards, throughout the entire life cycle of the study. Discussions of ethics in research can focus on processes for ethical review of proposed projects, but this is just one part of a greater whole: cultivating and maintaining high standards of research ethics, actively and continuously.

This session will introduce researchers to key concepts in research ethics and explore how ethical considerations can arise. It will discuss how proactive engagement with ethical issues – including reflecting on potential unintended consequences of research - helps to maximise benefits for individuals, wider society and the environment, and mitigates against possible harms and risk.

It will also describe processes for seeking an ethical opinion on research projects and sources of help available to researchers – both during the ethical review process and when unexpected situations arise during the course of the research.

Video recording and slides:

1. You can now view a recording of the training on UKRIO’s YouTube channel.
2. Access the slides from the presentation via UKRIO’s website is available upon request. Please contact srh67@Cam.ac.uk

Here is a list of resources (circulated by UkRIO pertaining to the content discussed during the webinar:

• UKRIO –‘What is a research ethics committee?’
• UKRIO - Research Ethics Support and Review in Research Organisations
• UKRIO – catalogue of research ethics resources

This webinar focuses on Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) — the principles and practices that ensure research aligns with societal values, fosters ethical considerations, and contributes positively to society. RRI equips researchers to anticipate the potential implications of their work and address societal expectations, fostering the creation of inclusive and sustainable research and innovation.

RRI is relevant to all disciplines and sectors of research and is a key criterion for funders like UKRI and the European Commission. It complements other initiatives aimed at improving research quality and ethics, including Responsible Research, Ethical Innovation, and public engagement. This session will give participants valuable insights and tools to enhance their understanding of RRI and improve their research practice.

Video recording and slides:

1. You can now view a recording of the training on UKRIO’s YouTube channel.
2. Access the slides from the presentation via UKRIO’s website is available upon request. Please contact srh67@Cam.ac.uk