Heads of 70 research funding organizations will talk about open access to publications and principles of research integrity / Hosted by DFG and the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development of Brazil (CNPq) / Press Conference on 29 May 2013

The 2nd Annual Global Meeting of the Global Research Council (GRC) will take place from 27 to 29 May 2013 at the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities in Berlin, Germany. The meeting will bring together the heads of about 70 science and research councils from around the world as well as high-ranking guests from science and research, science administration and research policy. Hosted jointly by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the National Council of Technological and Scientific Development (CNPq) of Brazil, it will be the largest meeting of its kind so far.

The topics of discussion will be open access to publications as the main paradigm of scientific communication in the following years as well as the responsibility of research funding agencies to ensure the integrity of the research they support. It is expected that participants will endorse an Action Plan on Open Access as well as a high-level Statement of Principles for Research Integrity. Both documents have been developed at a set of regional meetings held around the world between October and December 2012. An International Steering Committee was then asked to synthesize regional contributions into two high-level documents. Participants will also endorse the new statutes of the Global Research Council.

The outcomes of the meeting’s discussions as well as the two endorsed documents will be presented at the press conference on 29 May 2013 at the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities (BBAW).

“The German Research Foundation is delighted to welcome the world of research and research funding to Berlin and is pleased to host this meeting together with our Brazilian partner organization”, DFG-President Professor Peter Strohschneider points out: “We are honored to welcome so many high-ranking representatives from research funding, science administration and research policy and regard this enthusiastic participation as a clear demonstration that there is a huge interest to engage in an open exchange on the development of our science and research systems and the role of research funders in a globalized world. By cooperating across geographical, political or disciplinary borders and agreeing on the standards and guiding principles of research funding as well as its independence from political influence, participating organizations would take on a global responsibility for the future development of science and research systems, Strohschneider continues. “As DFG, we would also like to use this opportunity and draw the world’s attention to our own standards and the German model of research funding which is based solely on criteria of scientific quality and free from political, economic, or other reasoning.”

The Global Research Council (GRC) is a voluntary, informal organization of heads of research councils (HORCs) from around the world, pledged to find mutually acceptable paths to greater international research collaboration. Its goal is to represent most of the world’s research potential by getting all interested key players in research and research funding worldwide involved. To ensure a globally consultative process and to improve communication and cooperation among research funding agencies, the GRC annually holds a set of regional meetings as well as an annual global meeting to gather input from the different world regions, address issues of mutual concern to research and research funding worldwide, and to agree on guidelines and principles by which multinational research collaboration can be enhanced. Thereby, the GRC shall also provide assistance to those research institutions and funding organizations wishing to build a world-class research landscape.

The Global Research Council was established in May 2012 at the “Global Summit on Merit Re-view” held in Washington D.C. The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) had invited about 50 heads of research councils, primarily representing the G-20 and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development countries. Participants collectively endorsed a high-level Statement of Principles for Scientific Merit Review, which had been developed at a series of regional meetings held around the world before. Former NSF-Director Dr. Subra Suresh and former DFG-President Professor Matthias Kleiner played key roles in launching the Global Research Council and will both also be present at the Berlin meeting.