To what extent is confidentiality protected?

Information about the person submitting an incident report and about those incriminated by such a report is treated confidentially, as is information about any other individuals named in this connection. This means that the names and identities of these individuals are only known to those persons who are responsible for receiving the information and those who provide for support for the latter in performing these duties. Confidentiality is protected regardless of whether the report is submitted directly to the DFG or not. 

The identity of the following individuals is protected: 

• Complainants/whistleblowers, providing they submit a report in good faith. “Good faith” means that the person providing the information is not intentionally or grossly negligently passing on false information in submitting their report but assumes at the time of doing so that the information they are sharing is true. 
• Individuals who are the subject of a report, i.e. those incriminated by a report. 
• Other persons mentioned in the report. These will particularly include any third parties such as colleagues, superiors or the employer, whether they are directly involved or not.

What exceptions are there in terms of the requirement to maintain confidentiality?

There is no absolute protection of confidentiality. 

Confidentiality does not apply to any complainant/whistleblower who wilfully or through gross negligence provides incorrect information about suspected violations. In such a case, the complainant/whistleblower can expect their identity to be revealed, e.g. via a request for information on the part of the respondent in accordance with Art. 15(1) GDPR; it can be assumed that the latter will assert claims for damages. 

There are other legal exceptions to the confidentiality requirement which involve the DFG having to release the names and identities of those concerned:

• to the competent criminal prosecution authority if the latter requests information under the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure (StPO) in connection with criminal proceedings
• to the competent authority based on an official order in a lawful administrative procedure (including administrative fine proceedings) 
• based on a court ruling.

In the case of reports submitted under the report focus area “Research misconduct”, the following applies according to the “DFG Rules of Procedure for Dealing with Scientific Misconduct” (VerfOwF): information about the complainant/whistleblower must be disclosed in connection with any formal investigation procedure into allegations of scientific misconduct if the respondent would otherwise not be able to properly defend themselves against the allegations because, by way of an exception, this depends on the identity of the complainant/whistleblower.

What should I do if I am not entirely sure whether what I have observed or suspect is a case of misconduct?

If you are not sure whether what you have observed or suspect is a case of misconduct, we would ask you to word your report using expressions such as “I believe that...”, “It could be that...”, “I think it is possible that...”. 

In order to protect your identity, you also have the option of submitting your report anonymously, i.e. without stating your name. Anonymous reports may not contain false information either.