Research integrity, French Office for Research Integrity (Ofis)

Establishment of the French Office for Research Integrity

Published on

The French Office for Research Integrity (OFIS) has been set up as a department of Hcéres. The Research Integrity Council (CIS), chaired by Olivier Le Gall, guides and supervises its work.

Research integrity is the foundation on which trust is built between research communities and also between these communities and society as a whole. To provide a framework and an impetus at national level, the French Office for Research Integrity (OFIS) has been set up in accordance with the conclusions of the report by Pierre Corvol1. The OFIS has a threefold mission: 

  • prospective studies and intelligence activities, notably on new forms of research: participatory science, big data, re-use of data and open science, 

  • ensuring that the French Charter for Research Integrity is respected by the institutions that have adopted it since 2015: the institutions conserve their prerogatives and responsibilities in the matter, 

  • making national scientific communities aware of questions relating to research integrity, particularly through the network of dedicated officers in the institutions that have signed the charter. 

As a department of Hcéres, OFIS benefits from specific conditions in order to guarantee its independence in accompanying, coordinating and facilitating the actions of higher education and research institutions that have signed the charter. Its future director is currently being recruited. 

A Research Integrity Council guides and oversees the work of the OFIS, particularly in terms of prospective studies and intelligence activities. Its first meeting will be held in December 2017, chaired by Olivier Le Gall, Director of Research at INRA (French National Institute for Agricultural Research), a specialist in plant virology. Olivier Le Gall graduated as an agronomist from AgroParisTech in 1986 and also holds a PhD in Biology from the Université de Bordeaux (1989). After 20 years carrying out research at INRA in Bordeaux (1986-2006), he ran the INRA Plant Health and Environment Department (2006-2012) before becoming its Deputy Director General for Scientific Affairs until the spring of 2017. 

Speaking to the Hcéres Board on 23 October 2017, Olivier Le Gall recalled the necessity of accelerating reflection on research integrity, still modest in France, at the same time thanking those who have contributed to recent work on the subject. He also stressed the importance for the OFIS of carrying out this reflection in conjunction with the dedicated officers in the various institutions.

 

1  “Review and proposals for the implementation of a national charter for research integrity”, Professor Pierre Corvol (Report submitted on 29 June 2016 to Thierry Mandon, Secretary of State for Higher Education and Research) and Hcéres press release dated 20 March 2017.

Download