EUROPEAN NETWORK OF RESEARCH ETHICS COMMITTEES (EUREC) EV

Their core work

EUREC is the umbrella network of national research ethics committees across Europe, providing coordination and shared standards for ethical review of research. They contribute expertise on research ethics governance, integrity frameworks, and ethical impact assessment to EU-funded projects. Their practical role is developing training programs, platforms, and normative analyses that help research institutions maintain ethical standards. They bridge the gap between national ethics committee practices and European-wide policy harmonization.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Their early work (2016-2017) centered on building foundational infrastructure — networking ethics committees and integrity offices, establishing shared ethical standards, and creating open-access platforms for policy exchange. The later projects (2017-2018 onward) shifted toward applied ethics for specific emerging technologies like genomics and human-machine interactions, plus virtue-based approaches to integrity training. The trajectory shows a move from institutional coordination toward forward-looking ethical assessment of new technologies.

EUREC is evolving from a committee coordination body toward proactive ethical assessment of emerging technologies — making them increasingly relevant for projects involving AI, genomics, or human enhancement that need robust ethics partners.

How they like to work

EUREC participates exclusively as a partner, never as coordinator — consistent with their role as a domain-specific expert contributing ethics expertise to larger consortia. With 37 unique partners across 24 countries from just 4 projects, they operate in large, pan-European consortia (averaging ~10 partners per project). This broad network and non-competitive NGO status makes them an accessible and low-friction partner for any consortium needing ethics and integrity expertise.

Despite only 4 projects, EUREC has built connections with 37 distinct partners across 24 countries — a remarkably wide geographic spread. Their network is pan-European by design, reflecting their role as the umbrella body for national research ethics committees.

What sets them apart

EUREC is the institutional voice of research ethics committees in Europe — not an academic group studying ethics, but the actual network that connects the committees making ethics decisions. This gives them unique legitimacy and practical authority when a consortium needs ethics governance, review coordination, or integrity frameworks. For any project requiring an Ethics Advisory Board, compliance with responsible research principles, or ethical impact assessment, EUREC brings both institutional credibility and operational reach across 24+ countries.

Highlights from their portfolio

• SIENNA
  Addressed ethics and human rights impact of genomics, human enhancement, and human-machine interactions — a forward-looking scope that positions EUREC in technology ethics.
• VIRT2UE
  Developed a virtue-based train-the-trainer program for research integrity — a practical, scalable output designed for adoption across European institutions.
• EnTIRE
  Built an interactive wiki-style platform mapping normative frameworks for research ethics and integrity across Europe — a lasting reference infrastructure.