1. This letter clarifies the requirement for institutions to comply with the
Concordat to support research integrity. It sets out HEFCE’s view of compliance with the Concordat, and provides advice for institutions on finding further information.
2. The guidance set out in this letter has been agreed by the other signatories of the Concordat, listed below, as represented on the Concordat working group. Our expectations are therefore aligned with those of the other research funders and organisations that are signatories to the Concordat.
3. Signatories to the Concordat:
* Department for Employment and Learning
* Higher Education Funding Council for England
* Higher Education Funding Council for Wales
* National Institute for Health Research
* Research Councils UK
* Scottish Funding Council
* Universities UK
* Wellcome Trust.
4. The requirement will be introduced as a condition of HEFCE grant from 2013-14, for institutions eligible to receive HEFCE funding for research. This follows our consultation ‘Research integrity concordat: Consultation on proposed implementation from 2013-14’ (
HEFCE 2012/32), the outcomes of which are published on the
research integrity section of our web-site). The
funding agreements for 2013-14 therefore state:
‘The institution is required to comply with the Concordat to Support Research Integrity published by Universities UK in July 2012 […] Institutions in receipt of research grant from the Council are also required to provide assurance of their compliance with the Concordat through the annual assurance return to the Council and following any guidance that the Council may provide. For 2013-14 only, in recognition that compliance by some institutions may require a period of time to achieve, institutions in receipt of research grant from the Council may provide assurance either of their compliance, or that they are working towards compliance, with the Concordat.’
5. Institutions will be asked to confirm their compliance with the Concordat in the annual assurance statement, which will be subject to routine audit. Institutions will not be required to provide additional evidence in the assurance return. We will additionally monitor the implementation of the concordat through the information shared by other funders at the integrity working group (see paragraph 13).
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