Ombudsperson to safeguard good scientific practice / Research Ethics Office
As a public research organisation, DLR is committed to safeguarding scientific practice and initiating appropriate procedures in the event of scientific misconduct. This measure is based on the Code of Conduct for Safeguarding Good Research Practice of the German Research Foundation’s (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft; DFG).
DLR has to appoint an ombudsperson to ensure compliance with the rules. This person is appointed by the Executive Board together with the Scientific and Technical Council and is the point of contact regarding matters of scientific misconduct for a period of three years. In the event that the autonomy of the ombudsperson is not assured, the Executive Board will appoint a replacement.
There is also a working group of ombudspersons at the Helmholtz Centers, which elects a spokesperson and a deputy. These are the ombudspersons at Helmholtz level and an additional point of contact in cases where the DLR ombudspersons are not sufficient.
In this context, DLR has established a Research Ethics Office, which serves as the first point of contact for ethical issues. In this way, DLR guarantees that research ethics is firmly anchored in the organisation. The Research Ethics Office is also an important component in the implementation of sustainable research and work at DLR – as part of DLR's sustainability strategy. It helps to sensitise people to the content of the fields of action such as "reflecting on research topics and processes" or "bringing results to bear in a socially competent manner".
Ethics is also becoming increasingly relevant in the trends of digitalisation, artificial intelligence and the interface between human and machine. For DLR in its functions as a research organisation, space agency and project management agency, compliance with ethical principles is essential.