CHANGER Policy Brief: Towards a future-proof ethics review in a changing research landscape

Trust in science, technology and innovation, as well as social robustness of their innovative outcomes are dependent on the ethical qualities of research. For this reason, research projects go through ethical review by Research Ethics Committees (RECs). RECs conduct ethics reviews at different levels and types of research, aiming to ensure adherence to ethics standards. They act as “intermediary institutions” between science and society, contributing to societal trust in research and innovation. Novel and disrupting technologies pose new challenges for research ethics and human rights, while changing research landscapes –including transdisciplinary research– challenge established ethics infrastructure. Herein, the CHANGER project consortium focuses on challenges in ethics reviews and presents targeted policy recommendations to embed ethics-by-design approaches and dialogue-based ethics support throughout the research lifecycle.