The Novo Nordisk Foundation wants to support high-quality research which complies with the Foundation’s standards for good research practice.
All recipients of research grants from the Foundation must comply with the following:
– generally recognized standards for good research practice (1), as a minimum, this includes the rules of the research institution in question as well as all relevant laws and regulations in the country in which the grant is utilized;
– the Danish Code of Conduct for Research Integrity(2) from Denmark’s Ministry of Higher Education and Science if they are grant recipients or apply for grants and intend to conduct their research in Denmark;
– international and national rules on the safety and rights of clinical trial patients and healthy volunteers, including the Nuremberg Code (3), the Declaration of Helsinki (4) and other ethical guidelines, and if the grant recipient wants to depart from these rules, this must be stated on the application and permission must be obtained from the relevant authorities; and
– international and national rules on animal welfare, such as Denmark’s regulation on animal experiments, the Danish Animal Experiment Inspectorate and the Consolidated Act on Animal Experiments (5).
Suspected misconduct
Anyone who suspects that misconduct has taken place should first report it to his or her organization. If no internal procedures are in place for such reporting, suspected misconduct should be reported via the Foundation’s external whistleblower website.
Obligation to inform in case of misconduct
If a grant recipient or researcher on a project funded by the Foundation is found guilty of scientific misconduct, the grant recipient and the host institution must inform the Foundation immediately after such a decision by the relevant authority.
Applicable research standards
- Examples: Swedish Research Council (2006): Good research practice – what is it?; Danish Agency for Science, Technology and Innovation (2009): Guidelines for good research practice; Medical Research Council (2005): Good research practice.
- Ministry of Higher Education and Science (2014): Danish Code of Conduct for Research Integrity (http://ufm.dk/publikationer/2014/the-danish-code-of-conduct-for-research-integrity).
- The Nuremberg Code (http://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/archive/nurcode.html).
- World Medical Association (2008): Declaration of Helsinki 2008 (https://www.wma.net/what-we-do/medical-ethics/declaration-of-helsinki/doh-oct2008).
- Danish Animal Experiment Inspectorate regulations (https://dyreforsoegstilsynet.dk). Consolidated Act on Animal Experiments (www.retsinformation.dk/Forms/R0710.aspx?id=162938)
These can be found in our Code of Conduct.
