ENVRI PLUS project: Developing an ethical framework for Environmental and Earth System Research Infrastructures

Abstract

ENVRI PLUS is a Horizon 2020 project bringing together Environmental and Earth System Research Infrastructures (RIs), projects and networks with technical specialist partners to create a more coherent, interdisciplinary and interoperable cluster of Environmental Research Infrastructures across Europe (http://www.envriplus.eu/). One theme of the project deals with the societal relevance and understanding, and within that theme an entire work-package (WP) aims at developing an ethical framework for RIs. Objectives of this WP are: • increase the awareness of both the scientists and the public on the importance of ethical aspects in Earth sciences; • establish a shared ethical framework of reference, to be adopted by RIs governing bodies; • increase the awareness of RIs management and operational levels and of the individual involved scientists on their social role in conducting research activities and research work environment; • assess the ethical and social aspects related to the results achieved and deliverables released within the project. The ongoing activities include: • reviewing the state of art on ethical issues useful for the goals of the project (collection and analysis of materials already existing within scientific organizations, institutions all over the world); • the creation of a questionnaire, through which to investigate how each RI participating in ENVRI PLUS faces ethical issues in relation to its activities, and so to understand the level of perception that researchers and technicians involved in the project have on the ethical implications of their scientific activities; • the definition of ethics guidelines to be used by partners for building their policies and their own codes of conduct; • the elaboration of an ethical label template to characterize each product of the project, that partners will be able to use in order to give essential information about the ethical and social implications of their products; • the dissemination of all the results of the previous activities on websites and social networks, so that they are suitable for the public. ENVRI PLUS is the first European project in which ethics applied to geosciences find space as a fundamental issue, at the base of scientific activities.