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Ethics at CNRS

“The purpose of research is to contribute to the development of knowledge and the advancement of science. It is based on the principles of honesty, scientific integrity and responsibility on which the public bases its confidence  in research”.
CNRS Ethics Committee, Integrity and responsibility in research practices

Ethical issues : COMETS

Created in 1994, the CNRS Ethics Committee (COMETS) is an independent advisory body of 12 members appointed by the CNRS Board of Trustees. It represents all disciplines and respects gender parity.

Its independence guarantees an unbiased approach to the ethical implications of major issues involving research.

Its remit

Through its Opinions and the training initiatives that it undertakes or in which it participates, COMETS draws the attention of research and management staff to the ethical and societal dimensions of research. In so doing, it aims to shed light on research freedoms while bearing in mind the duties and responsibilities which staff members have towards the CNRS and more generally towards society.

It is not an operational ethics committee responsible for accrediting projects. It has no authority for handling a breach in scientific integrity and does not rule on individual cases, whether in relation to scientific projects or the misconduct of researchers. 

Operating ethics

The CNRS refers to the Regulation and Bioethics Unit of the Institute of Biological Sciences (INSB) for operational ethics issues. This body advises laboratories on the ethics of their project and, if necessary, directs them to the appropriate operational ethics committee.

The operational ethics committees, known in English as IRBs (Institutional Review Boards), IECs (Independent Ethics Committees), ERBs (Ethical Review Boards) or REBs (Research Ethics Boards), evaluate the compliance of projects with a number of ethical guidelines, particularly when projects involve human and/or animal experimentation. An increasing number of research funding agencies in North America and Europe require teams receiving their grants to receive ethics accreditation from one of these committees.

For the time being, in the field of life sciences, an agreement has been reached between the CNRS and Inserm’s Ethics Evaluation Committee, which agrees to provide these accreditations if necessary. In addition, still in the field of life sciences, the CNRS has set up a Regulation and Bioethics unit within the Institute of Biological Sciences. This unit has all the legislative and regulatory expertise needed in the field of bioethics and research involving humans, which it shares with researchers.

On the other hand, in the case of engineering sciences, digital sciences or human and social sciences, it is necessary to call upon a “CERNI” (Ethics Committee for Non-Interventional Research) or a similar committee. The CNRS refers to the Regulation and Bioethics Unit of its Institute of Biological Sciences (INSB) for operational ethics issues. This body advises laboratories on the ethics of their project and, if necessary, directs them to the appropriate operational ethics committee. 

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CNRS arrangements for certifying the ethical compliance of projects

  • An increasing number of institutions are requiring certification of ethical compliance of research projects by the parent organisation of the funded laboratories. The CNRS has entrusted COMETS with the responsibility of coordinating its new arrangements for addressing operational ethics issues. COMETS works in particular with the Regulation and Bioethics Unit of the CNRS Institute of Biological Sciences (INSB), which is the reference structure for operational ethics issues in laboratories.

    For all questions related to ethics regulations, COMETS can call upon expertise from within or outside the CNRS. The following arrangements apply to the certification of compliance with ethical rules (increasingly required by funding agencies), and research involving human beings:

    The CNRS Regulation and Bioethics Unit is competent for research involving humans, the promotion of research projects in the biomedical field and bioethics regulations.

    • The CNRS’s own Institute of Biological Sciences (INSB) is responsible for applying this legislative and regulatory framework. For questions of operational ethics, the Regulation and Bioethics Unit—directed by Alice René—is the reference point of contact. For interventional research involving humans, a committee of experts chaired by Professor Pierre-Paul Vidal selects the projects likely to be promoted by the CNRS; it may call upon experts designated by the CNRS Institutes concerned, if necessary.
    • The CNRS Regulation and Bioethics Unit is responsible for giving advice on the preparation of applications, particularly on the steps required for the bioethical aspects of projects, such as obtaining the agreement of independent ethics committees (IRBs etc.). This unit also participates in legislative developments on certain topics. COMETS has appointed one of its members to be kept informed of the applications examined by the committee of experts. The head of the unit is a permanent guest of COMETS and may be called upon to attend COMETS discussions when the themes addressed by the latter are related to the issues that the unit has to handle.

    To certify compliance with American ethical rules, an agreement has been reached with Inserm’s Ethics Evaluation Committee, which has an Institutional Review Board.

    An increasing number of institutions are requesting certification of the ethical compliance of their research projects by an Institutional Review Board (IRB). The CNRS does not currently have an IRB, and it takes a very long time to obtain one. Therefore, a solution has been found with the Inserm’s Ethics Evaluation Committee (CEEI). The CEEI is an IRB registered on the US regulatory site for the health sector. It is linked to the “Public Health” Thematic Multi-Organisation Institute, itself a member of the Aviesan alliance. The CEEI is authorised to certify research projects in the biomedical and behavioural science fields, i.e. life sciences and social sciences. It can also rule on other fields of science, which it has already done. It considers cases where the project leader is asked for an ethics compliance notice in order to sign a contract or simply publish work. These are often international projects that require a compliance notice from an ethics committee in each partner’s country of origin. Therefore, it has been agreed that the applications received by the CNRS (Regulation and Bioethics Unit or COMETS) for certification can be sent directly to the Inserm CEEI, and that the latter will inform the CNRS of the outcome following processing by the CEEI. The application must first be submitted to the CNRS Regulation and Bioethics Unit so that it can check its qualification.

     

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