ÖSTERREICHISCHE AGENTUR FUR WISSENSCHAFTLICHE INTEGRITAT

Their core work

The Austrian Agency for Research Integrity (OeAWI) is Austria's national body dedicated to promoting good scientific practice and investigating allegations of research misconduct. They develop standards, guidelines, and training programs that help research institutions build internal integrity frameworks. Through EU-funded coordination actions, they contribute to creating Europe-wide standard operating procedures, ethics training curricula, and open science guidelines that research organizations can adopt directly.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Their early work (2016-2018) focused on building foundational networks and defining ethical standards — connecting research ethics committees, establishing norms for good scientific practice, and addressing data protection concerns. From 2019 onward, the focus shifted toward practical implementation tools (standard operating procedures, promotion plans) and broader governance themes including open science, citizen science, and public engagement. The trajectory shows a clear move from "what are the rules?" toward "how do we embed them in institutions and extend them to new research modes like open science."

They are expanding from traditional research misconduct prevention into the governance challenges of open science and citizen science — expect future work at the intersection of integrity and open research practices.

How they like to work

OeAWI operates exclusively as a participant, never as coordinator — consistent with their role as a national integrity body contributing domain expertise rather than leading large-scale project management. With 34 unique partners across 19 countries from just 4 projects, they work in broad European consortia (averaging 8-9 partners per project). This wide network suggests they are a trusted, well-connected voice in the European research integrity community rather than a repeat-partner hub.

Despite only 4 projects, they have collaborated with 34 unique partners across 19 countries — a remarkably wide European network for their portfolio size. This reflects their role as a connector within the pan-European research integrity ecosystem.

What sets them apart

OeAWI is one of a small number of dedicated national research integrity agencies in Europe, giving them both institutional authority and practical experience in handling misconduct cases and developing prevention frameworks. Their progression from ethics standards to open science governance positions them at a critical junction that few organizations occupy. For any consortium needing credible research integrity or responsible research and innovation (RRI) expertise, they bring both policy knowledge and operational experience from Austria's national integrity infrastructure.

Highlights from their portfolio

• VIRT2UE
  Largest funding (EUR 297,528) and a distinctive virtue-ethics approach to integrity training — produced a reusable train-the-trainer program adopted across institutions.
• ROSiE
  Most recent project (2021-2024) representing their strategic pivot into responsible open science — a fast-growing policy area in Horizon Europe.
• SOPs4RI
  Highly practical output: standardized operating procedures and promotion plans that institutions can implement directly for research integrity compliance.