Our policy for responsible research partnerships
uclouvain |
UCLouvain pursues a policy of responsible partnerships by committing to respecting:
- human rights;
- academic freedom;
- research ethics and integrity principles;
- the environment;
- personal health and safety.
UCLouvain has taken a principled position concerning:
- academic freedom, particularly by adhering to the Magna Charta Universitatum;
- integrity and ethics, including by adhering to the European Code of Conduct and setting up a series of ethics committees;
- projects with military implications;
- responsible international travel, through its Charter for Responsible International Mobility and its recommendations concerning high-risk destinations;
- responsible partnerships, based on the UCLouvain Responsible Partnership Charter.
Partnership and collaboration project sponsors are responsible for ensuring compliance with this policy. They are urged to examine the extent to which their project contributes to violations of human rights, academic freedom, research ethics and integrity principles, environmental protection, and personal safety and health. To this end, project sponsors are supported by an internal mechanism (see below) to assess partnerships for risks of such violations and, consequently, to decide whether to initiate or suspend such partnerships.
This is a work in progress, subject to continuous improvement.
The internal mechanism to help project sponsors assess risks consists of three stages:
- a self-assessment guide with analysis tools (accessible via your UCLouvain email address);
- contact persons for questions;
- arbitration committees.