Open AccessResearch council leaders issue merit review principles, establish Global Research Council
Author(s) -
Showstack Randy
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
eos, transactions american geophysical union
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.316
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 2324-9250
pISSN - 0096-3941
DOI - 10.1029/2012eo220003
Subject(s) - transparency (behavior) , political science , impartiality , commission , summit , public relations , public administration , law , geography , physical geography
The directors of research councils from 41 countries, along with representatives from the European Commission and other organizations, issued a set of merit review principles and established a virtual Global Research Council following a 14–15 May Global Summit on Merit Review that was hosted by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF). The merit review principles cover six key areas: expert assessment by reviewers; transparency regarding decisions; impartiality of proposal assessments; appropriateness of the review process; confidentiality in handling proposals; and integrity and ethical consideration, which was deemed paramount to the review process. According to NSF, the merit review principles statement was developed with two primary objectives. “First, the worldwide agreement on core, high‐level principles will foster international cooperation between funding agencies that support the scientific research community. Second, for those countries that are developing new funding agencies, the principles provide a global consensus on the key elements necessary for a rigorous and transparent review system.”